Chicken Pot Pies

 

In this family we love our pies.  Maybe it's a northern thing, after all I spent my teenage years ducking out of school to visit the nearest Greggs for a cheese and onion pasty!  I'm not a great lover of puff pastry though - something about the soft pastry doesn't work for me when combined with the gooey interior of the pie.  For me the best pie has a crumbly, crisp shortcrust pastry that melts in the mouth.  My current go-to is a one-pot chicken pie.  It came about as a way to extend the life of the Sunday roast chicken and it's become a favourite dish.  Part of the attraction is you get a pretty damn good pie for a small amount of effort - and that's always a winner in my book.  I can get in from work and have this made and on the table within the hour.

The basic recipe came from Jamie's 30 Minute Meals but I adapt it to whatever I have to hand.  As my children don't like mushrooms I substitute them for leeks.  I serve it with buttery mash and braised lettuce, peas and spring onions (trust me it's delicious).   The proof, as they say, is in the pie.

{I've also made this as a giant pie, rather than individual servings, with everyone able to just tuck in from the big pot}