Friday, May 1, 2009

Wintery yumminess

I do love pies in winter...and given Canberra has decided to skip Autumn completely (we had a low temperature of 0.8C degrees last night...ugh) I'm declaring an early start to the Festival of The Pie!

We inhaled Chicken and Bacon pies last night, which are based on a Donna Hay recipe and absolutely scrummy. Donna likes to top her pies with sliced potato...I prefer flaky puff pastry. mmmmm.

The beauty of these pies is their speed...unlike most red meat, chicken doesn't need hours to simmer and tenderise, so these babies can be on the table in under 60 minutes.

what you need

1 tbs olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic
4 rashers bacon, chopped
2 x 200g chicken breast fillets, chopped
125ml white wine
250ml pouring cream
sea salt and cracked black pepper
2 sheets frozen puff pastry
one egg yolk, for brushing

what to do
  1. Preheat oven to 180C (355F).
  2. Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and bacon and cook for 3-4 mins. Add the chicken and cook for a further 3-5 mins or until brown.
  3. Add the white wine, cream, salt and pepper and cook for 1-2 mins or until thickened slightly.
  4. Spoon the mixture into 4 x 310ml ovenproof dishes or ramekins.
  5. Top each one with a piece of pastry large enough to hang over the edge of the dish. Press the pastry down firmly around the edges of the dishes, and brush evenly with the egg yolk.
  6. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 15 mins, or until puffed and golden.
  7. Serve with mash and seasonal veges. Enjoy!

6 comments:

Leah said...

Oh this looks fantastic. I will be defiantly trying this next week!

Iris said...

0.8C degrees, eep! We lived in Canberra for 6 months when I was about 9, I remember the novelty of the frosty mornings :-)

I'm so excited for the colder weather - after the saga that was being very pregnant during summer, I've never looked forward to lots of baking, slow-cooked stews, knitting and enormous socks quite so much!

Bells said...

Love me a pie. I think you are right. Festival of the Pie has begun.

Rowe said...

I think Donna should be afraid if this pic of the pie is what you cooked yourself, it looks scrumptious.

BTW congrats on getting the review gig for Baby's Got Style. A very nice reason to feel chuffed, especially as you get to keep the clothes.

Amanda said...

Nothing better than a pie on a cold winter's night...except maybe a glass of red with said pie.

Julia said...

Thanks for the kind words on our blog! It's nice to see such a chivalrous blogging community emerging in Canberra. This recipe looks absolutely scrummy!