Chicken Pot Pie
Layered chicken, ham, and jammy hard-boiled eggs under a golden puff pastry lid — a proper British-style pie with a bone-broth gravy poured in at the finish.
Ingredients
- 1 largewhole chicken(about 4 lb, jointed into 8 pieces, skin removed)
- 1 mediumyellow onion(halved)
- 4 piecesfresh thyme sprigs
- 2 piecesfresh flat-leaf parsley sprigs
- 1 piecebay leaf
- ½ tspground mace(divided)
- ½ tspfreshly grated nutmeg(divided)
- ½ tspwhite pepper(divided)
- 1 tspfine sea salt(divided, plus more to taste)
- 7 ozcooked ham(sliced 3–4 mm thick)
- 9 ozgood-quality pork sausage meat
- 3 largeeggs(hard-boiled, peeled, and sliced into rings)
- 1 pieceall-butter puff pastry sheet(store-bought, about 11 oz, cold)
- 1 largeegg yolk(beaten with 1 tsp water, for egg wash)
Method
- 01
Separate the chicken breasts and thighs from the carcass bones (neck, back, and leg bones). Set the meaty joints aside; place the bones in a medium saucepan.
- 02
Cover the bones with 3 cups cold water and add the halved onion, thyme sprigs, parsley sprigs, bay leaf, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer and cook uncovered for 1 hour.
- 03
Strain the bone broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a measuring jug; discard solids. You need about 1 cup of broth — reduce further on the stovetop if needed. Season with salt and set aside.
- 04
Preheat the oven to 200 °C (400 °F / Gas 6).
- 05
Mix together the ½ tsp ground mace, ½ tsp nutmeg, ½ tsp white pepper, and 1 tsp salt in a small bowl to make the seasoning blend.
- 06
Arrange a single layer of the raw chicken joints (breasts and thighs) across the bottom of a deep 2-quart pie dish. Sprinkle over one-third of the seasoning blend.
- 07
Lay the 7 oz ham slices evenly over the chicken, then dot the 9 oz sausage meat in small spoonfuls across the ham layer. Sprinkle over another third of the seasoning blend.
- 08
Arrange the 3 hard-boiled egg slices in an even layer over the sausage meat. Sprinkle over the remaining seasoning blend.
- 09
Pour 1 cup of the reserved bone broth carefully around the edges of the dish — not over the top — so the layers stay intact.
- 10
Unroll the cold puff pastry sheet and drape it over the dish. Trim to leave a 2 cm overhang, then press and crimp the pastry firmly onto the rim of the dish to seal.
- 11
Cut a small cross-shaped steam vent in the centre of the pastry lid. Brush the entire surface evenly with the beaten egg yolk wash.
- 12
Bake for 30 minutes, then loosely tent the pie with a sheet of foil to prevent the pastry from over-browning. Continue baking for a further 45–50 minutes, until the pastry is deep golden and the chicken is cooked through (an instant-read thermometer inserted through the vent should read 74 °C / 165 °F).
- 13
Remove from the oven and let the pie rest for 10 minutes. If the dish has absorbed most of the broth, warm the remaining bone broth and pour a little through the steam vent before serving.
Adapted from public domain & community sources