Roast Chicken and Sweet Potato Pie.



chicken and sweet potato pie with roasted garlic, fully encased in shortcrust pastry.



A pie is not a pie unless it is completely encased in pastry. I have enjoyed a ‘pot-pie’ of course (lazy Friday, hang-over curing, lunches at The Newman Arms spring to mind) but these heartwarming pots are more casserole with pastry garnish than PIE. My husband agrees. He loves a pie and that is why I made him one to celebrate our first wedding anniversary.

I’ve never made a proper pie before; sure I’ve done shepherds pies and pot pies, but never the real deal. I did once live with a girl whose lamb and rosemary pie was voted Australian Pie of the Year, I learned a lot from that girl. Nicola…if you’re reading, I salute you!

I didn’t follow a recipe for this. I had a pie in mind though, or rather a slice of a pie, PROPER PIE with full pastry case, we once ate at The Birdcage pub in Stoke Newington. It was one of the finest pies I’ve ever tasted. For my inspiration, I simply conjured this pie in my minds eye and tried to recreate it.

For the pastry.

450g plain flour

½ tsp salt or to taste

120g butter, cold

120g white vegetable fat, cold

beaten egg, for glazing

a little milk

For the filling.

4 whole chicken legs (the complete leg and thigh)

3 medium sweet potatoes

1 cup frozen peas

100g bacon lardons (or diced pancetta)

5 large banana shallots

1 head of garlic

A little salt and black pepper

1 tsp thyme

Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Rub the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, thyme and generous grinding of black pepper. Cut the top off a whole head of garlic and put it on a baking tray with the chicken, put the tray into the oven to roast for 1 hour. When it is done let it cool.

Meanwhile, peel your sweet potatoes and cut them into discs about 1cm thick put them in a pot of water, bring to a low boil and boil for about 12 minutes, until they are just cooked. Drain the potatoes and reserve in a bowl. Pour your peas on top to let them thaw.

Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a fry pan and fry your shallots until they begin to soften, then add you pancetta. Once the shallots are soft and translucent and the pancetta is starting to crisp, take them off the heat and tip into the bowl with the peas and potatoes.

Once the chicken and garlic is cool, you can add them to the bowl with the rest of the filling ingredients. For the garlic, simply squeeze each clove to pop it out of its skin and leave the cloves whole in the filling mix. Take the chicken in your hands and tear it off the bone and into chunky pieces, add some but not all of the skin (you can add the skin and bones to a pot cover with water to make some stock.). Use your hands to mix everything together. You can cover this mix and store it in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

Now the pastry; for the purposes of this blog I have made pastry, but honestly, next time I will buy readymade short crust. I am definitely not a snob when it comes to bought pastry. If you do want to make yours, this is how you do it. Sift the flour and salt together into a large mixing bowl. Dice the cold butter and vege fat and rub them into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs (I was told that cold hands make better pastry, so I keep mine cool by dipping them in iced water as I need to). Mix in just enough cold water to form a stiff paste. Turn this out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently to form a smooth ball of dough. Wrap in the ball in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes

Preheat the oven to 200degrees. Roll out two-thirds of the pastry and use it to line a 20–25cm pie dish. Blind-bake the base for 15 minutes, then take it out and let it cool. Roll out and cut the remaining pastry into a disc to cover your pie dish. Pastry off-cuts should be kept for garnishes.

Take the chicken filling from the fridge and mix in 100ml of crème fraiche. Pile the filling into the base. Moisten the edges of the base with some milk, and then use a rolling pin to pick up your pie top and lay it over the filling. Press the edges down with a fork, which will seal the pie and make a pretty pattern. Prick 3 holes in the top of the pie to release the steam as it cooks. Now you can get artistic with your pastry off cuts, stick your shapes on using a bit of milk, then brush the top of the pie with a beaten egg.

Cook for 30 minutes. Serve with asparagus spears tossed in butter, lemon juice and black pepper.