Chicken, chorizo and tarragon pie with mashed potato pastry

Pie has to be way up there on my list of perfect comfort food dishes - in fact I'd go so far as to say that pie IS my favourite comfort food. All the warming goodness of a hearty winter stew rich and steaming, topped with a generous layer of golden buttery pastry.
When it comes to choosing which pastry I have terrible indecision, mostly because I am completely addicted to pastry - the more pastry the better and I want them all. Buttery, crumbly shortcrust, flaky and lighter than air puff pastry, rich and heavily delicious suet pastry... but the best pastry of all... my absolute favourite pie topping pastry is mashed potato pastry.

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If you have never stumbled across the joys of mashed potato pastry let me introduce you... to the lightest, softest pastry that is somehow crisp and crumbly at the same time. Mashed potato pastry has been part of my world since I was a little girl Mum had this cook book by Josceline Dimbleby called Marvellous meals with mince and my two favourite recipes were a really 80's meatloaf smothered with blue cheese and tomato ketchup and Piglet Pie. Piglet pie was topped with mashed potato pastry and it was love at first taste. Such was the power of mince that the book was republished a couple of years ago so I am now the proud owner of my own copy and it's retro classics live on in my cooking.

What to put under the pastry

I have leftover roast chicken in my fridge that is just crying out to be made into a perfect pie. It's also raining and I can't be bothered to leave the house to get other pie ingredients - what I'm thinking is something creamy with mushrooms, thyme and leeks but I don't have any of those so to avoid a soaking I'm going to have to work with what I have. There is about half a cured chorizo and a bunch of tarragon which will do nicely. To flll it out in the absence of leeks I slice up 3 large onions and sweat them down in the oil released from the fried off chorizo, until they are really reduced, sticky and golden to give a rich depth of flavour to the pie filling. Lots of garlic next then I chuck in the crisped chorizo and chicken. As it is feeling a little Spanish-y I use up the end of a bottle of medium dry sherry that I have knocking about that is probably past its best drinking but will be delicious in my sauce. Home made chicken stock, tarragon and plenty of crème fraîche. Once it is cooled it's ready for it's glorious mashed potato pastry top. I make more pastry than I need as I love to roll it out and cook it alongside the pie for extra pastry goodness.

Chicken, chorizo and tarragon pie with mashed potato pastry

serves 4

250g cured chorizo, sliced

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good knob of butter

3 large onions, finely sliced

3 large cloves of garlic, finely sliced

350g leftover roast chicken, torn into pieces

1 heaped tbsp plain flour

good slosh of medium dry sherry

200ml fresh chicken stock (or from a cube)

good dollop crème fraîche

for the pastry

175g self raising flour

100g cold unsalted butter, cubed

175g left over mashed potato, or one large baking potato, cooked and flesh scooped

a medium free-range egg yolk, plus 1 egg beaten with a little mlk to glaze

Heat a pan over a medium heat and dry fry the chorizo until it is golden and has released all its oil. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the butter to the pan and tip in the onions and fry for a good 10-12 minutes until really soft and golden. Add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds before adding the chorizo back into the pan with the shredded roast chicken.

Add the flour and stir for a minute then pour in the sherry and bubble for a few minutes until reduced by half then add the stock and season well. simmer for 5-10 minutes until you have a thick sauce. stir in the crème fraîche and tarragon and set aside to cool.

Make the pastry, rub the flour and butter together until they resemble breadcrumbs then mix in the leftover mash and the egg yolk. Season and bring together with your hands to form a soft pastry. Chill for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200c. fan 180c.

Spoon the filling into a pie dish. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a bit thicker than a pound coin then top the pie. Use any trimmings to decorate the pie then roll out anything you have left and place on a baking sheet. Brush all over with the egg and milk mixture. Bake for 25-3o minute until golden. Serve immediately with seasonal greens.

FOOD BYTE - Roast chicken with mushroom and truffle risotto

Hello and welcome to my new little Food Byte! This time we are going for a comfort food with a twist of glamour.

This stunningly simple but impressive recipe is perfect for relaxing weekends and cooking with friends and was inspired by my lovely friend and top chef Dhruv Baker who showed me how to make the most amazing mushroom risotto I have ever tasted. And this is saying something for someone who used to detest all things funghi. In fact, I determinedly trained myself over a period of about 10 years to love the shroom and now it is one of my favourite things to eat, which just goes to show that perseverance pays off!

Dhruv's mushroom risotto recipe goes one step further, making a velvety purée of mushrooms and truffle to fold into your finished risotto, which is pure heaven. If you are lucky enough to visit Dhruv's new pub, The Jolly Gardeners, and the mushroom risotto is on the menu, I urge you to try it! I have simplified it somewhat for the home cook and the end result, I'm happy to say, is pretty close to the original.

A roast chicken is one of the easiest ways to feed a hungry crowd. This recipe matches juicy chook, not with the usual spuds and sides but with a rich and creamy risotto that you cook while the chicken roasts.

Risotto is one of my all time favourite dishes. I love the therapeutic nature of it, standing at your hob, stirring and watching as little grains of rice flourish into rich creaminess. I would probably eat risotto every day of the week if i could. It is my lazy dish. Don't listen to those who say it is tricky or labour intensive - this simply isn't true. Yes, it is hands-on, but with all that stirring comes a great reward. As it is the stirring that releases the starch from the rice, giving the dish its characteristic creaminess. However, once your rice is underway you don't need to stir constantly as you may need to be doing other things for your dish. Just make sure you don't leave it unattended for two long and always give it a vigorous stir after each addition of stock.

The most important thing about both a roast chook and the risotto is resting time. Once they are cooked, the chicken should sit and rest on a warm plate for a good 10 minutes before carving. The risotto likewise, should sit off the heat, covered, for a few minutes to relax into itself.

Lemon roast chicken with mushroom, cavalo nero and truffle risotto

serves 4

ready in an hour

for the chicken

1 free range chicken (about 1.8kg)

25g unsalted butter

1 lemon

for the mushrooms

large knob of butter

2 garlic cloves, crushed

300g button mushrooms, finely chopped

good glug of double cream

for the risotto

good glug of olive oil

several knobs of butter

2 banana shallots, finely sliced

300g risotto rice

large glass of dry white wine

800ml - 1ltr chicken stock, kept hot in a pan

200g cavalo nero

small bunch of tarragon, chopped

30g parmesan cheese

few drops of truffle oil

Preheat the oven to 200c. fan 180c. Rub the chicken all over with the softened butter then season with plenty of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Squeeze over the juice from the lemon then pop the lemon halves in the cavity. Roast for 50 minutes - 1 hour until cooked and the juices run clear when the thigh is pierced with the tip of a sharp knife.

For the mushrooms. Melt the butter in a pan and add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds then add the mushrooms. Increase the heat, season well, and fry until golden brown and all the moisture has evaporated away. Add a good glug of double cream and then remove from the heat.

For the risotto. Melt the butter in a saucepan with a glug of olive oil. Add the shallots and fry for 10 minutes until lovely and soft. Add the rice and stir for 30 seconds in the buttery juices until the grains become opaque. Add the wine and stir until all is absorbed.

Gradually add the stock, one ladleful at a time, stirring between additions until it has all been absorbed before adding the next ladle. You may not need all the stock.

Meanwhile, blanch the cavalo nero in boiling water for a few minutes then drain and refresh under cold water. Finely chop.

Remove the cooked chicken from the oven and set aside to rest whilst you finish the risotto.

Once the rice is just tender, add the mushrooms, cavalo nero, tarragon and grate in the parmesan cheese. Stir well then remove from the heat, cover, and leave to stand for a minute or two before stirring in the truffle oil. 

Serve the risotto spooned onto warmed plates and topped with slices of the cooked chicken.

 

Sunday Brunch - Kiki crumpet

This post is dedicated to my wonderful friends Lars and Liv without who The Kiki would never have come into my life. 

Kiki on her 95th birthday being honoured by her home town.

Kiki on her 95th birthday being honoured by her home town.

The Kiki sandwich was invented by Lars' wonderful Swedish granny, who is something of a legend in her home town, and was introduced to me at University when I shared a flat with Liv and, by extension, her boyfriend Lars. Many a hungover morning was salvaged and near corpses restored to some kind of normality by the powers of the Kiki sandwich. Such was the legendary status of this breakfast of champions that every friend of mine from University knew of The Kiki, even if they hadn't been lucky enough to have had one made for them by Lars, who would deliver them to you as you huddled under a blanket on the sofa barely able to move.

You can imagine many years later, at Liv and Lars' amazing wedding, when we all got to meet the infamous Kiki. Now in her 90's, she was more than a little shocked and confused as a long line of people queued up to meet her and all of them informed her of the miracle qualities of her sandwich invention, which she had absolutely no idea had even made the journey from Sweden and into our lives. 

I am not particularly overhung this morning but I have a craving for a Kiki sandwich and nothing else will do. I lack the bread that would make it a true Kiki, so it means it is taking on a slightly altered guise as a Kiki crumpet!

Kiki Crumpet

makes 1 Kiki

2-3 rashers of streaky bacon

1  crumpet

butter to spread

grainy mustard to spread

30g cheddar cheese, thinly sliced

2tbsp olive oil

1 free range egg

Grill the bacon until golden and crisp and toast the crumpet until lovely and golden. Butter your crumpet and spread with grainy mustard and top with the cheese and bacon.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small frying pan and fry your egg. Remove with a slotted spoon and put on the top of your bacon and cheese laden crumpet. Season with salt and pepper and devour with gusto.