In the Kitchen with Jamie Oliver’s Delicious Chicken Pot Pie

I’ve always wanted to make a chicken pot pie. I found a delicious recipe on a bunch of blogs but couldn’t find it anywhere on JamieOliver.com. So I’m hoping it’s actually a Jamie Oliver recipe. I also found two other recipes from Nigella (which you know will be tasty) and the another from Barefoot Contessa, which I wasn’t too sure about. But for rustic British grub, Jamie Oliver is always someone I can count on. His food is so homely and delicious – it was exactly what I was looking for. This recipe has a twist, it also includes sausages! You don’t have to add it but it’s oh so good! I’ve also made adjustments to the recipe, not a lot, but a tiny bit. Sorry for the lack of pics on this one! I was a bit preoccupied 😉

Jamie Oliver’s Chicken Pot Pie

6 Servings

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into pieces
2 medium leeks, trimmed, washed and sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
3 sticks celery, finely sliced
3 teaspoons dried thyme or 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 ½ tablespoons flour
1 glass white wine
1 ¼ cups milk
salt
pepper
9 ounces good pork sausage
1 lb puff pastry
1 egg

Preparation

Filling:
In a large casserole pot over medium heat add olive oil and butter. Add the chicken, leeks, carrots, celery, and thyme. Cook slowly on the stove for 15 minutes. Turn the heat up, add the flour. Continue to stir for a couple of minutes.

Add wine, a wineglass of water, and milk. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer on the stove for 30 to 40 minutes until the chicken is tender. Stir it every so often so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. The sauce should be loose but quite thick. If it’s a little too liquidy, just continue to simmer it with the lid off until it thickens slightly. You can also add more flour to thicken the sauce. If so, make sure to stir in the flour well so it doesn’t clump. Season with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper. Do not over season as the sausage will be savoury.

In the meantime, remove the sausage meat out of the sausage skins, roll it into little balls, and brown them in a separate pan.

Assembling the pie:
Preheat the oven to 425F.

Pour the chicken stew into an appropriately sized pie dish. Spread the sausage balls evenly over the stew.

Roll out your pastry to about 1/4 inch thick. Egg-wash the rim of the dish and drape over the pastry, using a knife to trim the edge of the dish. Egg-wash the top of the pastry to make it go golden while cooking, then pinch it to crimp it round the edges if you can. Use the back of a knife to lightly crisscross the top for decoration. This allows the pastry to go crisp and flaky. Cook the pie in the center of the oven for about 30 to 40 minutes, until golden on top.

Review

This recipe is quite tasty and very flavourful. It was extremely easy to make. Cutting the vegetables takes the most time. Just manage your time well. I’m a slow chopper so I made sure I gave myself enough time.

The recipe originally called for a heaping 3 tablespoons of dried thyme! I only used 2-3 teaspoons and that was plenty! But keep in mind that all the thyme may taste strong initially but when infused tastes amazing.

The recipe originally called for 2 tablespoons of flour but that clearly wasn’t enough to make the stew thick. I recommend at least 2-3 tablespoons. Maybe even more.

Even though I don’t own a brush, I still tried to “brush” the top of the pastry with the egg-wash. I had a lot of egg-wash left over. And I mean a lot. So I made myself an omelette. 🙂

I forgot to buy celery – I know. Also I’m not a fan of the taste, so maybe my forgetfulness was subconsciously intentional.

I used an organic sausage with gruyere cheese. It had an intense flavour and worked quite well with the rest of the chicken stew. Next time I plan to use a mild Italian sausage. I’m sure it’ll change the flavour quite a bit but I’m confident it will be just as tasty.

Tags: british cuisine, british food, british pub food, chicken, comfort food, cooking, culinary, jamie oliver, pastry, pies, poultry, pub food, puff pastry, recipes