The chicken week continues with Chicken and vegetable pie.  This pie is made with the left-over chicken breast from the roast I posted recently, but of course, you can use the freshly cooked chicken breast as well.

You can add pretty much any vegetable you like to this pie but, using vegetables that cook faster are better for this recipe. Otherwise, you run the risk of drying out the chicken.

I use spinach, mushrooms, leek and red capsicums (bell peppers) in this recipe. And if I have it at hand I might fry up some bacon/pastrami to give it a kick.

I use store bought puff pastry,but if you feel like doing it from scratch you can use Jamie Oliver’s puff pastry recipe, it works every time without hassle (http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/uncategorised-recipes/puff-pastry/)

This pie is so lovely, all it needs is a fresh salad on the side and you are good to go. I have added a salad recommendation at the end of the recipe.

Enjoy!

What you need:

• 1tbsp grape seed oil or olive oil
• 2 Chicken breasts, skin removed, cooked and diced
• 200gr Bacon/ pastrami, chopped
• 500gr Baby leaf spinach, finely chopped
• 500gr Button mushrooms, finely sliced
• 1 small Leek, sliced extra fine (only use the white part)
• 1/2 Red capsicum (bell pepper), finely chopped
• 100ml full fat cream
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• Salt & Pepper to season
• 2 sheets of store-bought puff pastry
• 1 egg yolk, for the egg wash

What you do:

1. Start by making the filling
2. Fry up the bacon/pastrami with the chili flakes in the pan until it is nicely fried
3. Add the leek and stir, cook for 3-5 minutes on medium heat
4. Then add the mushrooms, cook until they are soft
5. Add the chicken and season with salt & pepper and sweet paprika
6. Once the chicken is mixed fully with the rest, add the spinach and stir until it is wilted
7. Now add the cream and leave it to cook for about 15 minutes, mixing every few minutes
8. Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees
9. Lay out the puff pastry into your baking dish
10. Makes holes on the base of the pastry with a fork to allow the pastry to rise
11. Once the filling is cooked, make sure it cools down before adding it to the pastry
12. Check to make sure the filling is not too wet, you will get a soggy bottom otherwise. I place my filling in a sifter to let is cool,  so that the excess water can drain as it cools
13. Add the filling to the pie base and then cover it with the second sheet
14. you can make any design or shape, the only thing to make sure is that the pie is sealed all around
15. Once you have sealed all the sides, you can egg wash the pie and place it in the oven
16. Cook it for 25-30 minutes, until it is golden brown
17. Serve with a green or a salsa salad

Side Dish Suggestion:

1. 1/2 Cucumber, cubed
2. 1 large tomato
3. 1 small banana shallot, slice fine
4. 1 stick of feta or fresh mozzarella, cubed
5. 1 tbs olive oil
6. 1/2 tbs lemon juice
7. 1/2 tbs sumac
8. Salt to season

Enjoy!