Chicken, Leek & Potato Pie with Cheese Crust.

This pie is really very easy to make and tastes absolutely delicious. I find it a great meal to use up some left over cooked chicken or turkey.

Prepare the filling. Peel 3 medium sized potatoes and chop into small cubes. Place in a pan of cold water. Then finely chop 1 large leek and put in the pan with the potatoes. Salt the water, bring to the boil and cook for about 10 mins. Check the potatoes aren’t too soft, make sure they are still firm. Chop into small cubes some cooked chicken, it’s great to use up the leftovers from a whole cooked chicken. I would advise using the breast and leg meat. Put this and the drained vegetables to one side.

Now make the pastry.

• 1 lb Plain Flour
• 6 oz margarine
• 2 tablespoons of finely grated parmesan or hard Italian cheese.
• 4 oz of grated mature cheddar.
• Pinch of salt
• Ice cold water.

Put all the pastry ingredients in a mixer and mix until it looks like breadcrumbs. Slowly add the cold water until the dough goes into a ball and sticks to the mixer beater. Place the dough on a floured board or table. Take about a third away (this will be used later for the lid of the pie). Roll out until it covers the dish you wish to use. A deep dish is best as there is quite a lot of filling. Once you have lined your dish with pastry add the filling, the vegetables and the chicken and mix thoroughly.

The Sauce

You will need 4oz of butter or margarine. Slowly melt the butter in a pan and when melted, add a heap tablespoon of flour. Mix the flour in completely over the heat. Start adding milk slowly beating the mixture all the time until the mixture starts to look like a sauce. Keep mixing until the sauce is reasonably thick. Add a pinch of salt and a tablespoon of grated parmesan. Keep adding milk if required but it should start to look like yogurt. Add this to your pie filling making sure not to reach the top of your pie dish, leave about an inch. If you want to cheat, use a packet cheese sauce or a mix.

Wet the top of the pastry on your pie with a little water. Roll out the rest of the pastry to make the lid. Place the lid on the pie, cut off the excess and pinch the top to make a sealed ruffle effect. Put a hole in the middle to let the steam out. Brush with a beaten egg.

Put in the middle of a pre heated oven at 170 degrees. Cook until golden brown and then remove from the oven. This could take about 40 mins to an hour. Serve hot.