It’s a great combination, creamy chicken with leeks perked with pancetta in a crusty pie. By all means one of my favorite recipes. For an extra twist sprinkle Parmesan on top. A sure winner.
Serve it with a green salad.
Yield: 6 servings
Time: 60 minutes
Ingredients:
- 4 chicken legs and thighs, skinned
- 1 small onion
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp Herbes the Provence
- 2 sage leaves
- 1 bay leaf
- enough milk to cover chicken pieces
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup (70 g) pancetta or lean bacon, diced
- 2 leeks thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 2 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 sheets of puff pastry
- 1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp water (egg wash)
- Parmesan cheese to sprinkle
Preparation:
Place chicken pieces in a large saucepan. Add enough milk to cover the pieces. Add the peppercorns, onion, Herbes de Provence, sage and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer the chicken for about 25-30 minutes or until it comes off the bone easily. Remove the chicken pieces to a plate to cool down. Once cool enough to handle, flake the chicken meat. Discard the bones and pass the cooking milk through a sieve. Reserve it.
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Add olive oil to a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta or bacon and sauté pancetta until crisp. Add the leeks and continue cooking until the leeks are soft 3-5 minutes. Add chicken to the bacon and leeks. Sprinkle the mixture with the flour and cook it for 2-3 minutes further. Start adding the reserved cooking milk little by little, stirring gently all the time. Make sure that the mixture does not get lumpy. Continue adding milk (no precise amount) until you get a thick sauce that holds the mixture together. Add the Dijon mustard and taste for salt and pepper.
Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Butter and flour it. Roll out the pastry to a size of 10×15 inches (27×37 cm). Place the 1st pastry sheet on the baking paper. Prick it with a fork here and there. Distribute the chicken mixture over the bottom pastry sheet leaving a 1 inch (2,5 cm) border. Brush the border with the egg wash. Top it with the 2nd pastry sheet. Crimp edges together. Brush the top with the egg wash. Score a diamond pattern into the pastry with a sharp knife, taking care not to cut through. Poke some steam holes into the pastry. Sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown.
