Annie started her career as a chef, and is now an award-winning food writer who has written more than a dozen cookbooks. Her recipes are always as beautiful as they are delicious.
See more of Annie Bell’s recipes
Annie Bell
Annie started her career as a chef, and is now an award-winning food writer who has written more than a dozen cookbooks. Her recipes are always as beautiful as they are delicious.
See more of Annie Bell’s recipes
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Ingredients
For the filling
4 tbsp extra- virgin olive oil
1.6-1.8 kg chicken thighs and drumsticks*
500g leeks, trimmed and thinly sliced
150ml white wine
300ml chicken stock or water
50g unsalted butter
40g plain flour
50g full fat crème fraîche
2-3 tsp Dijon mustard, to taste
1 x 80g pack watercress, coarsely chopped
For the potato topping
1.1 kg medium or large waxy potatoes, eg Charlotte, peeled and halved or quartered as necessary
1 x 30g pack flat-leaf parsley, leaves chopped
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Get ahead
The filling can be made ahead and chilled, or frozen in the dish, with the potato added after defrosting. Leftovers reheat well
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large casserole over a medium-high heat, season the chicken pieces and colour them on both sides (you will probably need to do this in batches), then remove them to a bowl. Pour off the fat, turn the heat down a little, add another tablespoon of oil and fry the leeks for a few minutes until softened and lightly coloured, stirring frequently, then remove them to a large bowl.
Return the chicken pieces to the casserole, add the wine, stock or water and a little seasoning. Press the chicken pieces down (they won’t be completely covered), bring the liquid to the boil, then cover and simmer over a low heat for 35 minutes until the chicken is just tender, stirring halfway through. Remove the chicken pieces to a plate, reserving the cooking liquid (skim off any fat) and, once they are cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skin and shred the flesh, adding it to the bowl with the leeks.
Melt the butter in a medium nonstick saucepan over a medium heat, stir in the flour and cook for about 1 minute until it's a thick paste. Remove from the heat and gradually stir in the cooking liquid and the crème fraîche until smooth. Bring to the boil, stirring frequently, and simmer over a low heat for 5 minutes. Adjust the consistency if required and whisk in the mustard to taste. Pour the sauce over the chicken and leeks, and mix in the watercress. Transfer this to a shallow 2 litre ovenproof dish.
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add the potatoes and simmer until tender, then drain through a colander and leave for a few minutes for the surface moisture to evaporate. Return them to the pan and mash them very coarsely, partly chopping them with the side of the masher. Stir in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and some salt, and then the parsley. Spoon the potato on top of the chicken – it should be loose and craggy.
Heat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6, and bake for 35-45 minutes until golden and crisp on top.
Cover each pot pie with foil and freeze for up to 2 months. To bake from frozen, preheat oven to 400˚F (200˚C), and bake for 30 minutes with the foil on top. Remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!
"This deliciously moreish, flaky pie is a mildly cheesy version of the famous flamiche of Picardy, in northern France, where the filling is more usually a simple mixture of chopped leeks, butter and a little cream."
Chicken & Leek Pie Cooking guidelines from frozen. Remove pie from outer packaging but leave the pie within the foil. Preheat the oven with a baking tray to 180°C fan / Gas 6. Place the pie onto the pre-heated baking tray and cook in the centre of the pre-heated oven and cook for 50-55 minutes.
Most pies will freeze well from a raw or cooked state. However, custard filled pies do not tend to freeze well. When freezing a fruit pie, you'll see the best results if you freeze a combination of cooked fruit filling in a raw pastry. Raw fruit filling can become watery on thawing and may require additional thickener.
You won't use the tough tops in most leek recipes, but still, don't toss them! They add delicious oniony flavor to homemade stock. Store them in an airtight bag in the freezer until you're ready to make some. Next, continue chopping the white and light green parts.
Leeks, like onions, can become bitter if they're cooked for too long or at too high a heat. Make sure to sauté leeks over medium heat until they are soft and translucent, not browned. Another reason could be using the green parts of the leek, which are more fibrous and have a stronger flavor.
Leeks are rich in flavonoids, especially one called kaempferol. Flavonoids are antioxidants and may have anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, and anticancer properties, as well as other health benefits. Definite proof of these health benefits of leeks will depend upon future studies with humans.
The pies can be covered and chilled for two days before re-heating. Alternatively, freeze them for up to one month. Thaw overnight in the fridge before re-heating.
You can cook a pie from frozen right without thawing it out. In fact, it's better to bake frozen pie directly out of the freezer. You'll need to bake a frozen pie that's uncooked for about 55 minutes, while frozen pre-baked pie will take 30 to 35 minutes to reheat.
Do not thaw a frozen pie before baking. If you do it will more than likely end up having a soggy crust. I usually bake mine at 400 degrees in a preheated oven. If it is a store bought frozen pie just follow the instructions.
To freeze an already baked chicken pot pie, cool it completely after baking. This might take a good 30 minutes or more; after that you can refrigerate it to chill it more. Once cool, follow the same instructions as above for freezing. To reheat, no need to thaw, reheat in 375-degree oven for about 35 minutes.
Can you freeze chicken and pastry? Yes! Store the chicken and pastry in an airtight container or Ziploc freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then transfer to a Dutch oven or saucepan and warm over low heat.
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Prep time: 1 hr
