James Martin has shared his delicious and warming recipe for chicken and tarragon pie, which will easily become a family favorite.
Making a pie from scratch may sound boring, but the star chef cleverly synthesizes the method into just six steps.
Shared on James’ official website, this classic comfort food is made with a crusty puff pastry and serves six.
Ingredients
One whole chicken
Two carrots cut in half
One leek, halved
One onion, peeled and halved
One bay leaf
Six black peppercorns
Sauce
50 g of butter
50 g plain flour
750 ml of stock from above
200 ml of double cream
100 g of water chestnuts
One small bunch of tarragon, chopped
A rough blow
400 g plain flour
¼ teaspoon salt
150 g cubed butter
200 ml of water
One egg yolk
Instructions
In a large pot, mix the chicken, carrots, leek, onion, bay leaf and peppers. Add enough water to cover everything, bring to a boil and let it boil for an hour. After cooling, strain the broth and grate the chicken.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F) or gas mark 6.
For the dough, put all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix by hand until the dough is smooth, adding a little water if necessary.
Transfer the dough to a floured surface and roll it into a large rectangular plate. Fold it into a book shape, turn it over, roll it into a rectangle again, fold it once more like a book and repeat the process. Be sure to brush off the excess flour. Roll the dough into a three mm thick disc.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan and stir in the flour and then the stock to make the sauce. Mix in the cream. Put the chopped chicken, water chestnuts and tarragon in the pie dish, pour the sauce over it and let it cool.
Brush the rim of the pie dish with egg wash and then cover the chicken mixture with the rolled out dough. Pinch the edges, brush the surface with egg and place the pan on a baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
