Annie started her career as a chef, and is now an award-winning food writer who has written more than a dozen cookbooks. Her recipes are always as beautiful as they are delicious.
See more of Annie Bell’s recipes
Annie Bell
Annie started her career as a chef, and is now an award-winning food writer who has written more than a dozen cookbooks. Her recipes are always as beautiful as they are delicious.
See more of Annie Bell’s recipes
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Ingredients
For the filling
4 tbsp extra- virgin olive oil
1.6-1.8 kg chicken thighs and drumsticks*
500g leeks, trimmed and thinly sliced
150ml white wine
300ml chicken stock or water
50g unsalted butter
40g plain flour
50g full fat crème fraîche
2-3 tsp Dijon mustard, to taste
1 x 80g pack watercress, coarsely chopped
For the potato topping
1.1 kg medium or large waxy potatoes, eg Charlotte, peeled and halved or quartered as necessary
1 x 30g pack flat-leaf parsley, leaves chopped
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Get ahead
The filling can be made ahead and chilled, or frozen in the dish, with the potato added after defrosting. Leftovers reheat well
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large casserole over a medium-high heat, season the chicken pieces and colour them on both sides (you will probably need to do this in batches), then remove them to a bowl. Pour off the fat, turn the heat down a little, add another tablespoon of oil and fry the leeks for a few minutes until softened and lightly coloured, stirring frequently, then remove them to a large bowl.
Return the chicken pieces to the casserole, add the wine, stock or water and a little seasoning. Press the chicken pieces down (they won’t be completely covered), bring the liquid to the boil, then cover and simmer over a low heat for 35 minutes until the chicken is just tender, stirring halfway through. Remove the chicken pieces to a plate, reserving the cooking liquid (skim off any fat) and, once they are cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skin and shred the flesh, adding it to the bowl with the leeks.
Melt the butter in a medium nonstick saucepan over a medium heat, stir in the flour and cook for about 1 minute until it's a thick paste. Remove from the heat and gradually stir in the cooking liquid and the crème fraîche until smooth. Bring to the boil, stirring frequently, and simmer over a low heat for 5 minutes. Adjust the consistency if required and whisk in the mustard to taste. Pour the sauce over the chicken and leeks, and mix in the watercress. Transfer this to a shallow 2 litre ovenproof dish.
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add the potatoes and simmer until tender, then drain through a colander and leave for a few minutes for the surface moisture to evaporate. Return them to the pan and mash them very coarsely, partly chopping them with the side of the masher. Stir in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and some salt, and then the parsley. Spoon the potato on top of the chicken – it should be loose and craggy.
Heat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6, and bake for 35-45 minutes until golden and crisp on top.
If you'd like to freeze the pie, cool the filling fully before adding the pastry squares.Then cover with plastic wrap and aluminium foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge, or feel free to bake straight from frozen, adding around 50% longer to the cook time.
Very often flour or cornstarch is used, but in certain instances tapioca, arrowroot and potato starch can also help achieve the desired consistency. Tapioca starch is preferable for products that will be frozen because it will not break down when thawed. We like tapioca in blueberry, cherry or peach pies.
A watery potpie may be the result of not cooking the filling for long enough or adding too much liquid to the filling. Another possible reason for the pie being watery is if you add watery vegetables like spinach or green beans to the filling rather than potatoes or carrots, which soak up liquid.
Cooking frozen pies in an air fryer is a convenient way to enjoy crispy and delicious pies in no time. Whether you're a fan of savoury pies or sweet dessert pies, the air fryer's rapid cooking and crisping capabilities ensure that your frozen pies turn out perfectly every time.
Either way when you're ready to cook, there's no need to thaw; just add a good 15-20 minutes of extra baking time. Another way is to just make the filling, cool it and store in freezer-quality bags. This way, you can make several batches of filling and place the bags flat in the freezer.
You can cook a pie from frozen right without thawing it out. In fact, it's better to bake frozen pie directly out of the freezer. You'll need to bake a frozen pie that's uncooked for about 55 minutes, while frozen pre-baked pie will take 30 to 35 minutes to reheat.
If you want to make a puff pastry base for your pie
As you warm up your oven, put a baking tray in to heat up.Then when you put your pie in the oven, sit the dish on top of the hot baking tray. I find that this really helps to cook the base of the Steak Pie and stop a soggy bottom.
The pies can be covered and chilled for two days before re-heating. Alternatively, freeze them for up to one month. Thaw overnight in the fridge before re-heating.
The acidic properties of vinegar inhibit gluten, some will say. This theory proposes that once the water and flour are combined, gluten starts forming, causing the dough to grow tough. Adding an acid, the theory goes, stops the gluten in its tracks and rescues the crust from toughness.
If you are making a pie with a crust you'll need to decide which type of pastry to go for. Shortcrust pastry is the best for pies that fully encase a filling as they tend to be firmer and less likely to leak.Puff pastry is great if you prefer just a pastry lid on top of the filling.
Hobby: Reading, Ice skating, Foraging, BASE jumping, Hiking, Skateboarding, Kayaking
Introduction: My name is Cheryll Lueilwitz, I am a sparkling, clean, super, lucky, joyous, outstanding, lucky person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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Prep time: 1 hr
