Chicken, Bacon and Leek Pie for Spring
I realise that I have slightly missed the window for this recipe. I began writing it only days before an avalanche of essays, dissertation stress and exams hit, only to be thawed by the summer sun of the last few weeks. Now I am free though I thought I would return to few of my favourite spring recipes which work had prevented me from cooking and sharing with you. Even if this one is a little heavy for the weather at the moment you can be guaranteed that rain is never very far away, especially in Manchester. Keep this one in the back pocket then for a rainy summer day, and enjoy!
Chicken Bacon and Leek Pie (serves 2)
- One chicken breast
- 3 rashers of back bacon
- 2 small or 1 big leek
- One baking potato
- A knob of butter
- A tablespoon of flour
- Milk
- Cheddar cheese (optional)
How to Make it…
- Place the chicken on a sheet of tinfoil and season and top with olive oil or butter. Wrap into a parcel making sure no air can escape. You can fry the chicken but this is the best way to ensure that it stays moist and tender. Pop in the oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes/ half an hour.
- Slice the potato as thinly as possible and add to a pan of boiling water. Par boil them for around 10 minutes.
- Chop up the bacon and fry until crispy. Once it is ready put it in the pie dish. Now wash and slice up the leeks. Cook them in the same pan as the bacon so that you get all the lovely flavour. add a knob of butter and a dash of water to stop them burning. Again add the cooked leeks to the dish.
- By now the potatoes should be ready. Drain them and set to one side. In order to save on washing up you can use this pan to make your sauce. Start with a good size knob of butter and once it has melted add the tablespoon of flour. Whisk together until it forms a paste, if it looks dry and bread-crumby add a little more butter. Start adding milk a little at a time and continue whisking. Once you have a thick, glossy sauce (like you would use for lasagne) stop.
- At this point season with salt and pepper and whisk in some grated cheese if you fancy it. I also like to add a bit of mustard for a little kick.
- Put the sauce to one side and retrieve the chicken from the oven. Tear the chicken into strips and add to the leek and bacon. Stir through the sauce, if you have a little too much put some in the fridge, it makes a great pasta sauce.
- Top with the potatoes and cook under the grill for a further 10/15 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve with green vegetables.
Cost Rating: ** I used… 1 chicken breast costing £1.10, 1/2 a pack of Bacon costing £2.20, 1 leek costing 65p, 1/4 of a bag of potatoes costing 60p, 1/20 of a pack of butter costing 95p, 1/50 of a bag of flour costing 80p, 1/5 a bottle of milk costing 89p. Total cost: £3.24. Cost per head: £1.62
Washing up rating: ** I used… a knife, a chopping board, a pan, a frying pan, a baking dish, a whisk, plates and knives and forks.