Our chicken pies usually have some kind of cream in them but we really liked this gravy version. Try and use chicken thighs instead of breasts if you can get them, but no matter. I think we can all be forgiven for using dried herbs rather than fresh at the minute too. Though our local grocer surprisingly had some tarragon. We divided this into two dishes and baked each one fresh over two nights – reheated pastry never works out so well.
Wine Suggestion: Pinot Noir makes a nice match for this dish, be it classic Burgundy or New World. As always with this grape, make sure it is fresh and vibrant – the rich, juicy and high alcohol versions with lower acidity just don’t cut it with food. Tonight we had a cheaper “Little Yering” from the Yarra Valley found in the bargain bin of a local. While it didn’t blow us away it was delightful with the food
Chicken, mushroom & tarragon pie – serves 4
- 2 onions, roughly chopped
- 400g diced chicken (we used thighs but breasts fine too)
- 100g mushrooms, quartered
- 3 tbsp plain flour
- 330ml white beer
- 300ml chicken stock or veg stock
- 4 tbsp of chopped tarragon leaves
- a ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry sheet (all-butter not essential)
Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4.
Heat a splash of oil in a large frying pan and brown the chicken. Remove it from the pan and add the onions and mushrooms. Cook these for about 5 minutes or until softened and browned.
Add 3 tbsp of flour to the mushroom mixture and keep cooking for about 5 minutes, then add the beer and stock. Bring to the boil while scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to get all the sticky bits.
Lower the heat, then add the tarragon, some seasoning, and return the chicken to the pan. Simmer for 10 minutes until thickened, then tip into a baking dish and leave to cool.
Cut the pastry sheet to fit the dish and lay gently onto the sauce. Cut a few slits in the top and make a decoration with the pastry cuttings.
Bake for 30 minutes or until browned.
(Original recipe from Eat: The Little Book of Fast Food by Nigel Slater, Fourth Estate, 2013.)
I would like to cook this, nice change from a creamy sauce, but can you tell me ‘what is white beer?’
Lagar? Or is it just ie an ale rather than a stout.
Enjoy your posts. Thank you.
Hi Caroline. It’s a wheat beer – if you ask in your beer shop they should have it. If not, you could substitute a pale ale – not stout. Glad your enjoying the posts! J&J