This is planning ahead- cook this tasty chicken pie filling a day ahead so that it's ready for topping with all-butter puff pastry.
1 tsp vegetable oil
6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (about 500g/1lb 2oz), cut into bite-sized pieces
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 medium leeks, trimmed
1 onion, chopped
a few sprigs fresh thyme
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp plain flour
350ml/12fl oz good-quality chicken stock
100g/31/2oz good-quality ham, torn into bite-sized pieces
100g/31/2oz crème fraîche, optional
Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Season the chicken with salt and freshly ground black pepper and fry over a high heat for 10 minutes until golden-brown all over.
Meanwhile, slice the leeks into 1cm/½in rounds. Place the leeks, the onion and the thyme leaves into the slow cooker. Top with the chicken.
Add the butter to the pan, let it melt, then stir in the flour and cook for one minute or until pale gold and bubbling. Take the pan from the heat, then gradually whisk in the stock to make a smooth sauce. It will be very thick at first, but keep going. Pour the sauce over the chicken and vegetables, then cover and cook on low for 4 hours, or until the meat is very tender. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Allow to cool, then chill.
Stir in the ham and the crème fraîche (if using) into the chilled chicken mixture and it's ready to top with shortcrust or puff-pastry. Bake in a hot oven for 40 minutes or until piping hot and golden brown.
Type the ingredients you want to use, then click Go. For better results you can use quotation marks around phrases (e.g. "chicken breast"). Alternatively you can search by chef, programme, cuisine, diet, or dish (e.g. Lasagne).
Low-fat chicken and mushroom pie
See more chicken pie recipes
Coconut chilli chicken
BBQ chicken with coleslaw
See more chicken thigh recipes
Slow cooker massaman curry
Slow cooker split pea dhal
Slow cooker chickpea tagine
See more Jane Hornby recipes
Slow cooker beef brisket with cannellini bean mash
Slow cooker chickpea tagine
Slow cooker coq au vin
See more Slow cooker recipes (16)
BBC © 2013 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.
