Simple Dinners: Chicken & Leek Pot Pie

This pie was inspired by the lovely smoked chicken, leek and grain mustard farfalle that I had on my last visit to Cafe Sopra. I would have loved to have done the recipe with smoked chicken, but had to settle for boring breasts. (*giggles*) I love pot pies because you get the same enjoyment of breaking through the flaky, golden pie crust without the pain of having to construct an entire pie base. This recipe is super easy because you can cook all the pie filling in one big pan/pot, as long as you don't get impatient and split your cream sauce!

Chicken & Leek Pot Pie
2 chicken breasts, sliced
1 leek, diced
1 brown onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, finely diced
2 tbsp grain mustard
1 can light evaporated milk (you can also use cream if you prefer)
1 sprig of thyme
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup shaved parmesan
Chicken stock
1 sheet frozen puff pastry
1 egg

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C. Chop up the garlic, onions and leeks. Sweat the onions and leeks on medium heat in a large frying pan with some olive oil until they start to soften. Add the garlic and fry for a few minutes. Throw in the chicken and thyme and fry until chicken is sealed.

Stir in grain mustard, bay leaf, and chicken stock. How much chicken stock you add is up to you, I use this fabulous chicken stock sauce from Knorr which I buy from the Asian grocery, and I added what I think would have been the equivalent of 1 dry stock cube. Add evaporated milk and parmesan cheese. Mix well and allow to simmer for 10 minutes or until the sauce is thickened. Do not allow the sauce to come to the boil. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Remove bay leaf from mixture. Divide mixture into individual ramekins or bowls. Cover with cut squares of puff pastry. Lightly beat egg in a bowl and then brush the tops of the pies with egg wash.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until pastry is golden.

Like I have mentioned in earlier posts, I am lazy with dinners and I am not the most experienced of cooks. In fact, this was my first time actually cooking with leeks and making pies. This turned out to be super easy and tasty and once again I fell in love with the combination of creamy chicken, leek and grain mustard. A gave it his stamp of approval - "You can definitely make this again in the future!"