Chicken and leek pie

This chicken and leek pie is a British-style savory pie, made to be easy without skimping on flavor. It's packed with mellow yet tasty flavors, including sweet soft leeks and herby tarragon, topped with a crisp, buttery crust. Truly delicious comfort food.

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As a Brit myself, I know the island doesn't necessarily have the best culinary reputation. Though I think some of that is a little unfair from times past when what you might eat as a visitor was often a bit bland and same-y. It's a part of the cuisine, but not all of it.

Thankfully, much seems to have changed with a better appreciation of some of the great produce available locally, incorporating different cultural influences and chefs that help the ingredients shine with a balance between tradition and modern takes.

Savory pies: a British tradition

When it comes to traditional British fare, a pie is high on the list of classics. Unlike most pies in the US, British pies are probably as often if not more often savory. They come in many styles and flavors, from potato-topped shepherd's pie to hand-held pastry Cornish pasties. 

The idea of a pie is not originally British, with most agreeing the Egyptians were probably the first to create them and the idea then spreading through Rome via Greece. It's the Romans who then took the idea to various places around Europe. 

Pies started to flourish in medieval Britain and became a practical way of carrying food for workers and travellers. In some of those early pies, the pastry was not generally for eating, but just to hold the food inside. Over time, that changed and various styles evolved, both in size, crust and more. Some pies are regional, while others are more broad. 

Ingredients in this chicken and leek pie

This chicken and leek pie is a classic flavor pairing, which while mellow is anything but bland. You'll find a few variations on the basic theme, and while I've gone with a combination I love here, a few things you can vary to taste. 

• Chicken - this is the "bulk" of the pie. You want diced chicken in this, which can be chopped up boneless chicken thighs or breast, as you prefer. Chicken breast is generally leaner and quicker to dice, while thighs stay more moist and personally I think have more flavor. A mix also works well.
• Leeks - these add a lovely mellow sweetness and have a lovely silky texture, too. They have some of the properties that onions give to a sauce but with it's own distinct flavor. 
• White wine - this adds a bit more depth to the sauce and pairs well with the chicken and leek. If you prefer, you can skip and simply use more stock.
• Chicken stock - you want to make sure the base is not dry, so some stock helps add extra liquid, without being as overpowering as using all wine. 
• Sour cream - this adds a lovely gentle creaminess to the sauce, as well as a slight tang. Some heavy cream (double cream) would also work, ideally with a squeeze of lemon to give that slight tanginess.
• Tarragon - tarragon is definitely an under-loved herb, and I can understand, it can overpower if you use too much. But it pairs well with the chicken, leeks and white wine so is really nice in here. If you are less keen, or can't find any, some thyme would also be an alternative. Or, you can simply so without any herbs.
• Garlic and Dijon mustard - just a little of each for added flavor. They may be a little less "classic" flavor-wise but work well.
• Butter - I recommend you use butter here rather than oil to add flavor as you cook the pie filling. If you do prefer to use oil, use a neutral one such as canola or vegetable.
• Flour - you use just a little to thicken the sauce. You could also use cornstarch, though for that I recommend making a slurry with water before adding.
• Puff pastry - to make things easy, use ready-made puff pastry for an easy top to this pie. If you prefer, you can use shortcrust pastry instead. This is a single rather than double crust pie, but that, too, you can change if you prefer (though with shortcrust, only - puff pastry would get soggy under the filling).

All the ingredients are easy to come by, and while simple, they work well together.

Stages to make this pie

This pie comes together in essentially two parts: first is making the filling, then the second is adding the pastry and baking.

For the filling, you can make it all in one skillet/frying pan, though you work a little in stages. You want to make sure you brown the chicken as this adds flavor to the meat. You also want to ensure it's cooked through before baking. So, season then brown the meat in stages to ensure you get a good flavor and sear.

Then, soften the leek in additional butter to get it nicely soft. Take care as leeks can easily brown if your heat is too high or you don't have enough fat - they are more delicate to cook than onions. But kept low and gently buttery, they'll soften and bring out the natural sweetness.

Add the garlic, cook briefly, then deglaze with wine to get all the flavor from the pan into the sauce. Sprinkle in the flour to absorb the excess fat and it will thicken the sauce, then add the stock, mustard and tarragon (or other herb). Add back the chicken, mix through and cook briefly. Stir in the cream off the heat and the filling is done.

For the pastry, cut a piece a little larger than the size of your dish so you can double over the edges and crimp them. Pour the filling into the baking dish, top with the pastry, fold and seal the edges then cut some slits in the middle to let steam escape. Brush the top with eggwash to help get a lovely golden color then bake.

Preparing ahead

There are a couple things you can do in terms of preparing ahead with this pie to cut down on time before you bake. Firstly, you can make the pie and store in the fridge for a day before the final bake. Just be sure to keep it covered and add the eggwash before baking.

Secondly, you can also prepare the filling mixture and freeze it ready to make up the actual pie later. Or make double the filling and freeze part for another time.

You can also prepare the pie completely and freeze it uncooked. The only caveat is it's generally not advised to re-freeze things that haven't changed from being uncooked to cooked, so I wouldn't recommend this if using frozen pastry (you would need to defrost the sheet to cut and place over the filling). However if your pastry is not previously frozen, it's fine.

If you freeze the pie unbaked, you can cook it from frozen, it will just need to cook a bit longer, probably around 10 - 20 minutes more. The color of the pastry should help guide you - you want it evenly golden - and the filling should be warm all the way through once you cut in.

You can serve the pie just as it is or add some extra vegetables alongside. Particularly simple veggies like broccoli, carrots and peas all pair well.

This chicken and leek pie is packed with comfort factor, with lovely mellow flavors yet anything but bland. It's easy to make and great for preparing ahead. With a tasty mix of crisp pastry, a sauce-y filling, sweet leeks and meaty chunks, it's a great meal any excuse.

Try these other comforting mains:

• Bobotie (generally considered the national dish of South Africa, it combines meat, mild curry flavors, fruit and a custard-like top)
• Youvetsi (a comforting, easy Greek beef or lamb and orzo stew with a tomato-based sauce)
• Harira (a soup/stew from Morocco with chickpeas, lentils and more with a lovely warming kick of ginger)
• Plus get more British recipes and winter recipes in the archives.

I used this rectangular baking dish for this recipe which was a great fit. 

See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store. 

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