You might as well strap it to your thighs (Chicken pie)

When I lived in our shared flat in Petersham, we were lucky enough to live a mere 10min walk from an amazing Portuguese chicken shop. They butterfly the chicken and then grill it until the skin is super crispy and then top it with a magic sauce – either garlic or chilli.

We would often buy two chickens: one for eating that evening and one to have cold later in the week for sandwiches etc.

For the chicken which we planned to eat later, we would always start removing the meat from the bones. While doing this, AJ and I would always munch away happily at the amazing crispy chilli chicken skin. Straightie would just watch in disgust saying, “you might as well strap it to your thighs”. We promptly ignored her and kept on eating the skin (it may be a bit fuzzy in my memory, but I am pretty sure I can remember her sneaking some chicken skin too).

I am told the tradition became more entrenched after I moved out, with Chicken Tuesday becoming a weekly event at the flat.

With the availability of roast chicken, it seems such a waste to spend time pre-cooking chicken for recipes. And now that there is a Woolworths in Stellenbosch, I am planning to make my chicken pie as often as my diet can handle my favourite butter puff pastry.

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 whole roast chicken

375ml milk

2 Tbsp plain flour

1 tsp thyme

Salt and pepper

500g mushrooms (quartered)

1 tsp butter

2 cloves garlic

2 tsp chicken stock powder

100ml dry white wine

30ml cream (if you happen to have it in your fridge)

1 packet butter puff pastry (or normal puff pastry)

[Note: Take the puff pastry out of the freezer about an hour before using so it can defrost]

Preheat the oven to 220ºC.

  

Begin by removing all the chicken from the bones and skin. Place onto a chopping board. Chop into 1-2cm chunks and then place in a large casserole dish.

 

Place the butter in a pan on medium heat. Add mushrooms and garlic and fry gently until the mushrooms are slightly brown. 

 

Add the wine.

Put the flour into a small cup and add ¼ cup cold milk. Stir until the flour is dissolved. Add to the pan and stir. Add the remaining milk*. Add the thyme and chicken stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 min and then take the pan off the heat. Add the cream and salt and pepper to taste. 

Pour over the chicken in the casserole dish.

In order to cool the sauce, place the dish in a sink filled with cold water (and some ice) to a depth of 3-4cm. After 5 min the sauce should be warm rather than hot. Remove from the sink and dry the base. 

Lay the puff pastry over the top of the casserole dish. Make a few small cuts in the top of the pastry (so that the steam can escape). 

Place on a rack in the bottom third of the oven. Bake at 220ºC for 15min until the pastry rises. Turn down the heat to 180ºC and bake for a further 10-15 min or until the top is golden brown.

Remove and allow to cool for about 10 min before serving.

Serve with a green salad.

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*[If you want to be adventurous and have a nicer flavour, place the chicken bones into 315ml of the milk in a small saucepan. Add some peppercorns and an extra teaspoon of thyme. Allow to simmer for 10min. Strain the milk and use in the mushroom sauce.]