Rosti-Topped Chicken & Pancetta Pie
Freezable
From the Cookbook
Plan Ahead
Serves 6-8
This pie is well worth the effort. You will need to cook a chicken and make some stock, but don’t be put off. It’s brilliant for feeding a crowd, and appeals to children as well as grown-ups. It also freezes well. If you are in a hurry you can buy a roast chicken instead of cooking your own and use 600ml good-quality bought chicken stock.
Serves:
6-8Equipment:
- 1 large ovenproof pie dish, approx. 2.5 litres
Ingredients
1 x 1.8–2kg whole chicken
1 carrot, 2 celery sticks, ½ an onion, a few peppercorns, for making the stock
1.25kg floury potatoes (about 5 large ones)
225g cubed pancetta
250g chestnut mushrooms, cut into quarters
125g butter, plus extra for frying
800g leeks, cut into fat rounds, 1–2cm thick
3 tbsp roughly chopped fresh tarragon leaves
3 tbsp plain flour
250ml double cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
- 1
Place the chicken and the stock ingredients into a large saucepan. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Cover with a lid and simmer for about 1 hour 20 minutes or until the chicken legs are wobbly and the juices run clear when the flesh is pierced with a skewer. Carefully lift the chicken out of the pan and set aside to cool.
- 2
Now reduce the stock by simmering the liquid with the lid off for about 1 hour (depending on the size of your pan and how much water you put in at the beginning). Continue until about 600ml of liquid remains.
- 3
Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas mark 6. Wash the potatoes, place on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes or until just beginning to soften but not cooked through. Leave until cool enough to handle, then peel away the skins and coarsely grate the flesh into a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Leave the oven on.
- 4
Meanwhile, fry the pancetta in a large frying pan over a high heat until just crisp, then remove and set aside. Fry the mushrooms in the fat left in the pan for a couple of minutes, adding a little butter if necessary. Set aside.
- 5
In a separate pan, melt 50g of the butter and add the leeks and tarragon. Cover with a lid and leave to soften on a low heat for about 10 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes, then add your 600ml stock.
Bring to the boil, stirring all the time, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 2 minutes or until the sauce has just thickened slightly. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream. Leave the sauce to cool. - 6
Remove the flesh from the chicken and roughly chop, discarding the skin. Stir into the cooled sauce with the pancetta and mushrooms. Taste and season with salt and black pepper as necessary. Spoon into your ovenproof dish.
- 7
Place mounds of grated potato on top of the chicken mixture, then melt the remaining butter and pour over the top. Stand the dish on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until golden and piping hot.
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