Roast Chicken and Leek Pithivier

Ingredients

• 1 organic, free-range chicken
• 25g butter
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 leeks, diced with greens removed
• 2 tbsp of water
• 50g crème fraîche
• 50ml double cream
• Flour for dusting
• 30g tarragon
• 50g of parmesan
• 1 egg yolk, beaten
• Salt and pepper

Method (filling)

Next, season the chicken with salt and pepper and place in the oven to cook for one hour

Meanwhile, in a separate pan, add 25g of butter, onions and garlic and sweat down, ensuring the onions and garlic do not colour - this will take approximately three minutes on a medium heat. Add the leeks and sweat down, again ensuring they do not colour.

After two minutes, add 2 tablespoons of water. Once the steam begins to rise it will help break the leeks down quicker. Stir continuously to control the temperature and avoid the leeks from burning. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove the chicken from the oven, allowing it to rest and cool down. Take the leg and part of the breast and break it down with your hands. Next, combine the chicken with the leeks

Take the juice from the chicken stock and add it to a pan, reducing it down by 3/4. Once reduced, add in the cream and reduce again by 3/4. Now, add the cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste. The sauce should be very rich and thick

Place the sauce in the fridge to cool

Method (pastry)

Start by greasing a baking tray

Next, flour the worktop and roll out one half of the pastry, using a plate to form a circle. Place the pastry onto the greased tray and top with the chicken and leek mix leaving an edge of 3cm the whole way round

Roll out the other half of the pastry, making this slightly larger as you want this to cover the base and its contents

Next, using the egg yolk, brush around the edge of the pie base and place the top pastry case onto the base, crimping the edges with the back of a fork to seal the pithivier. Glaze the pastry using the rest of the egg yolk

Using a knife, gently score the pastry with a curved line. Note: you do not want any holes, so be careful

Finally, place the pie in the bottom of the oven and cook at 200°C for 12 minutes. Reduce the heat to 180°C and cook for a further 15 minutes until golden brown and crisp