Oh My, What A Pie!

Nothing like a challenge to get my creative cheffing ideas going, and I do believe my new pie dish is issuing one!

I saw it the other day and just had to buy it. It's made of enamel, and came as a set with a little pastry brush and a ceramic pie funnel. I can forsee lots of happy pie making days with this little lovely indeed!


The pie funnel is a terrific way to avoid a soggy pastry top. It has little legs and is hollow, which allows it to hold the crust up without sagging, and allows steam to escape venting it outside so moisture doesn't build up underneath.
(Please excuse my fingernails, Dear Readers, I had been blackberry picking and couldn't scrub out all the stubborn juice stains!)

Decisions, decisions....
What pie to make? I didn't really want to do a blackberry pie, as I had other plans for those lovelies, and insted went with a savoury pie for our dinner. Cider Chicken Pie.
Lots of chunky bits of meat, some veggies, sweetness from the cider and a zing from some mustard. Perfect!

I have to admit I cheated a little. My arms just aren't up to making my own pastry yet, so I used a frozen gluten free Rough Puff. I won't state the brand as I'd had it in the freezer for waaay too long and it was very dried out and freezer-burnt. I'm so happy to have some great manufacturers looking after us InTolerants that I don't want people to judge thier products for my mistakes.
But it still tasted good!



Just a word on my choice of chicken:
I always choose thigh fillets over breast fillets for my family. The meat is tastier, juicier and works much better for a dish like this. I actually never buy breast fillets, I don't see the point, I just find the thighs better and as a bonus even a dollar or two cheaper. That's just a personal choice though, I also hate drumsticks, but love wings!

Chicken Cider Pie

Filling

700 grm Chicken Thigh Fillets
375ml Dry Apple Cider
1 nice fat Leek
1/4 bunch of Celery
1/4 cup Gluten free Flour
1/3 cup lactose free Cream
2 Tab Mustard
Several cloves of Garlic
Bunch of Parsley
Fresh ground Pepper


Chop the thigh fillets into nice decent chunks, you want something to sink your teeth into- not just sauce.

Slice the leek fairly thinly into rounds and the celery into smallish cubes, then sweat them and the garlic down in a little oil until nice and soft and sweet. Remove from pan and set aside

Add a slug of oil to the pan, then seal the chicken off well

Add in the flour and mustard and stir around to coat the chicken. Cook it off for a minute or two while stirring to make sure it doesn't stick

Pour in the cider and mix it through to form the sauce, make sure you scrape the bottom of the pan well to get up all the yummy brown bits

Tip in the cream, and let the sauce bubble away and thicken into yumminess. Check for seasoning, I didn't include salt in the recipe as I find the mustard can be quite salty, but it's up to you and your taste buds

Mix the veggies back through, allow to cool, then stir in the chopped parsley
yes, I did forget that bit, but don't worry, I scooped all the filling back out of the dish and added it through. I knew it would be missing the earthy green note to ground the flavours if I left the parsely out.

Place the pie funnel in the middle of the greased pie dish, then spoon the filling all around

Roll out your pastry to fit the top of the pie dish, making sure you press the edges down firmly to seal it well.  Decorate with any scraps to make your pie beautiful and let your imagination fly

Brush your lovely creation with an egg wash to add gloss and colour as it bakes, and sprinkle with some sesame or poppy seeds for a bit of textural crunch- and because it looks good too!

Bake your pie in a fairly hot oven , until the filling is hot and bubbly and the crust is nice and crispy. Mine took about 45 minutes.

Serve up your pie with some mashed potatoes to help soak up any yummy sauce and a few more veggies.
Overall, I thought my pie turned out very well indeed, and hopefully lived up to my pie dish challenge. Oh My!


So Dear Readers, do you prefer the chicken breasts or chicken thighs, or any other particular cut the most?