Comforting Chicken Pie

I'm not sure why I felt the need to call this a comforting chicken pie. I've never met a chicken pie that didn't wrap me up in it's loving arms and tell me everything was going to be alright.



Comforting Chicken Pie
adapted from Jamie Oliver's Family Dinners
Serves 4

30g unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus a little extra
1 large brown onion, peeled and finely diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
Sea salt Flakes
Freshly ground white pepper
700g chicken breast fillets, cut into bite-size pieces
2 tablespoons plain flour
1/4 cup dry vermouth
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons cream
1 cup chicken stock
250g Italian pork sausages
1/4 cup frozen peas
1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry
1 egg, beaten for egg wash

Preheat the oven to 200 C.

Put 1 tablespoon of oil and butter into a large saute pan or Dutch oven and add the onions, carrots and thyme and season lightly. Cook over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes until the vegetables have softened. Increase the heat to medium and add the chicken. Cook until the chicken is just done.

Sprinkle the flour over the chicken and vegetables and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the vermouth, stirring vigorously. Gradually add the chicken stock, stirring. Bring to just under boiling point, add the peas. Remove from the heat, add the cream and mustard. Check seasoning and adjust if necessary, remembering that the sausage meatballs will be highly seasoned. Pour the mixture into a pie dish and wipe the pan clean.

Remove the casings from the sausages, pinch off small amounts of the meat and roll into balls. Put the clean pan on a medium heat and add a little oil. Add the meatballs to the pan and fry until they are golden brown on all sides. Add them to the pie mixture.

Take the sheet of puff pastry and score it in a crisscross pattern with the back of  a knife. Brush the rim of the pie dish with the egg wash and top the pie with the pastry. Press the edges of the pastry onto the rim of the dish and crimp. Cut a small hole in the centre of the pastry to let the steam escape as the pie is cooking. Brush the pastry with egg wash and bake for 30 - 40 minutes, until the pie is golden.