Warm up with a chicken pie
These pies can be made ahead of time, then simply heated in time for dinner. If you don’t have ramekins, just use a large pie or lasagnestyle dish – it will be just as delicious.
CHICKEN AND CHEESY POTATO TOPPED PIES WITH GREEN BEANS
Cheesy potato top:
600g potatoes, peeled and diced 4-5cm
Knob of butter
1⁄ cup milk
2
1⁄ cup finely grated parmesan
2 cheese
Pies:
500g skinless, boneless chicken thighs, diced 2cm
2 tablespoons cornflour 1 tablespoon olive oil
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced 1 leek, white and pale green part only, cut in half lengthways and thinly sliced 1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
1⁄ cup water
4
1 tablespoon fresh chopped tarragon (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1⁄ cup chicken stock
2
1⁄ cup sour cream
2
2-4 tablespoons water
To serve:
200g green beans, ends trimmed Knob of butter
To make:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Grease 4-5 ramekins, muffin tins or 1 large baking dish.
1. Cook potatoes in a pot of boiling water for 8-10 minutes, until very soft. Drain and mash with butter, milk and half the parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 2. Pat chicken dry with paper towels, season with salt and dust with cornflour. Heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat and cook chicken in batches, for 2-3 minutes per batch until golden brown (does not need to be cooked through). Remove from pan and keep pan on heat.
3. Add celery, leek, carrot and water to pan and cook until caramelised, 6-8 minutes. Return chicken to pan, 4. 5.
To serve:
Place ramekin-size pies or portions of pie onto each plate and serve with green beans on the side.