Chicken and leek pie

MAKES 6

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 free-range chicken breasts (about 600 g/1 lb 5 oz), cut into small cubes

a pinch of dried thyme

a pinch of ground cumin

1 leek, white part only, quartered lengthways, then finely sliced

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 carrots, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

3 potatoes, peeled and diced

115 g (4 oz/¾ cup) frozen peas

3 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 free-range egg, beaten

sesame seeds, for sprinkling

VELOUTé SAUCE

30 g (1 oz) unsalted butter

30 g (1 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour

250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) good-quality chicken stock, heated

250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) saison ale

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F/Gas 6). Lightly grease six individual 250 ml (9 fl oz/ 1 cup) capacity pie dishes.

Heat half the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium–high heat. Add the chicken and cook, stirring, until the meat is sealed and has turned white. (You don’t want to cook the chicken all the way through at this point, as it will finish cooking in the pie.) Stir the thyme, cumin and some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper through the chicken until well distributed, then transfer the mixture to a bowl.

Add the remaining oil to the pan and fry the leek over medium heat for a few minutes. Reduce the heat, add the garlic and fry gently for a few minutes more. Add the carrot, celery and potato and cook for a few minutes, stirring to stop the vegetables sticking on the base of the pan. Allow the vegetables to cook gently over low heat while you make the velouté sauce.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium–low heat, then stir in the flour to make a roux. Cook gently for a few minutes to cook out the flour taste, then slowly pour in the stock and then the beer, mixing until you have a smooth, thick sauce. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and stir in any juices from the chicken.

Add the sauce to the vegetables and simmer until the vegetables are just tender, 25–30 minutes. Add the peas and chicken and simmer for 5 minutes to warm through.

Before filling the pie dishes, place two of them upside down on a sheet of puff pastry, then cut around them about 1 cm (½ inch) out from the dish. Repeat with the other two pastry sheets to give six pie lids. Spoon the mixture into the pie dishes. Brush beaten egg around the outer rims of the dishes and fit each with a puff pastry lid, pressing the outer edges to the egg to seal. Brush the top of the pies with beaten egg, then cut a cross in their centre so steam can escape. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for 10 minutes, or until the pastry has risen and is golden brown and crisp.

Beer Notes

You could use a saison from Aussie micro-breweries Temple Brewing Company, Bridge Road Brewers or Otway Estate, or try the famous Belgian ale Saison Dupont