Chicken Coriander Pie

This recipe is from my favourite cookbook so far – Ultimate Kitchen Companion – that has over 2,000 recipes. Chicken Coriander Pie is a high-protein dish that is very easy to make and can be served as a main course. As far as I know this dish has its roots in the Indian cuisine. I hope you will enjoy it as much as our family does!

Time: 90 min, Prep: 40 min.  Cook: 50 min.
Servings: 4

Ingredients:          

• 50 g butter
• 2 medium-sized onions
• 200 g mushrooms
• 300 g chicken
• 4 hard-boiled eggs
• 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 300 ml chicken stock
• 1 egg yolk
• Fresh coriander (~2 Tbsp chopped)
• Salt and pepper
• 250 g puff pastry – you can also make the pie pastry at home by following the step-by-step recipe I posted under How to Make Pie Crust
• 1 beaten egg, to glaze

Directions:

Boil the chicken in salted water (or water with Vegeta powder) for about 15 minutes. Instead of using actual chicken stock (made by boiling chicken & chicken bones in water with carrots, celery, onion and some garlic), I used the liquid in which I boiled the chicken.

Chop the onions and slice the mushrooms. Melt half of the butter in a large pan. Add onions and mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat and stir in the chicken.

Place half of the mixture into a 23-cm or 9-inch pie dish. Slice the boiled eggs and lay over the chicken. Top with the remaining mixture.

Melt the remaining butter in a pan, add the flour and cook for about 1 minute. Gradually add the stock and cook for 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat, stir in the egg yolk, chopped coriander, and season with salt and pepper. Set the mixture aside to cool.

Pour the coriander sauce over the chicken filling.

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).  Roll out the pastry so that it’s 1.5 times the size of your pie dish. Lay the pastry over the chicken coriander filling, pressing down firmly to seal. Trim the edges.

I have also made a plait from the leftover pastry, although with or without the decorative edges it tastes just as good :).  However, if you want to make a plait, cut three long strips and plait them to the length of the circumference of the pie. Brush the top crust with the beaten egg, place the plait around the edge and press gently into place. Brush again with beaten egg.

Score the top of the pie so that steam can escape and cook for 30 minutes, or until golden.

Recipe adapted from ‘Ultimate Kitchen Companion’ – Bay Books.