Name: Chicken and leek pie recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 500g chicken breast fillet cubed; 1 pinch salt and pepper to taste; 40.00 ml Essentials Plain Flour; 2 leeks cut into slices large; 2 celery stalks sliced; 150g butter; 1 tsp fresh curly parsley chopped to taste; 2/3 cup milk; 1 cup cream; 1 egg; 1 sheet puff pastry

Truly comforting, make this your go-to pie on cold wintry nights. Tender chicken pieces and sweet leeks are all cosied up in a creamy sauce, then topped in a warm puff pastry blanket.

How to make this chicken and leek pie: key tips

In this recipe, the chopped chicken breast pieces are tossed in flour before they are pan-fried. The flour coating will caramelise quickly, trapping those succulent juices inside the chicken and adding to the flavour. The flour will also help thicken the sauce once the liquid is added.

You’ll want your puff pastry just thawed before placing it over the pie filling. If it’s frozen it will be too stiff to fold the edges over the pie dish and, if it’s thawed and at room temperature, it will be too sticky and hard to work with. Work with this pastry quickly and you’ll be rewarded with puffy flaky pastry over your pie filling. Brushing the pastry with an egg wash will help to create a rich golden sheen on top, making you want to dive right in!

Key ingredients in this chicken and leek pie

Chicken breast fillets are used in this recipe, but you could just as easily use the same quantity of chicken thigh fillets.

Leek and celery are the perfect partners for chicken and do triple duty in this recipe, providing texture, nutrition and loads of flavour. If you like, you can add other vegies, too (see the notes, below).

Puff pastry tops this pie, creating the perfect crunchy lid. Be sure to have your oven fully preheated before placing the uncooked pie inside. This will ensure your pastry top puffs up beautifully and doesn’t fall flat.

Homemade chicken pies always get the thumbs up from my family, and here are some more delicious chicken pie recipes that will warm your belly, plus our best savoury pies, from steak and kidney and cottage pie to sausage pie and pie with lamb.

Introduction and additional recipe notes by Natasha Shaw.

- Australia's Best Recipes Team

Ingredients

500g chicken breast fillet cubed
1 pinch salt and pepper to taste
2 tbs Woolworths Essentials Plain Flour
2 leeks cut into slices large
2 celery stalks sliced
150g butter
1 tsp fresh curly parsley chopped to taste
2/3 cup milk
1 cup cream
1 egg
1 sheet puff pastry

Method

Step 1

Preheat oven to 200C.
Step 2

Toss chicken in flour with salt and pepper.
Step 3

Melt half the butter and sauté the leek and celery until soft. Place in bowl.
Step 4

Melt the rest of the butter and cook the chicken until browned.
Step 5

Add leek and celery mix to the chicken and return to heat.
Step 6

Add the cream, milk and parsley.
Step 7

Combine and simmer for 5 minutes. Check seasoning for taste.
Step 8

Put filling in a pie dish and cover with puff pastry.
Step 9

Beat egg and brush over the pastry.
Step 10

Bake for 20-25 minutes until pastry is golden.

Recipe Notes

from Australia’s Best Recipes team

What else can I add to this chicken and leek pie?

You can add some crushed garlic, chopped mushrooms and/or chopped bacon when sautéing the leeks and celery, if you like, plus a chicken stock cube when adding the milk and cream.