Mum’s chicken pie

Serves 6

For the chicken:

450g skinless chicken breasts or thighs 400ml full fat milk 100ml water 3 bay leaves 10 peppercorns 4 sprigs thyme 3 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole 1 white onion, roughly diced 1 small leek, finely sliced 1 small carrot, grated 1 stick celery, finely sliced

For the sauce:

1 teaspoon olive oil 1 white onion, thinly sliced 2 sprigs thyme, stalks removed 187ml white wine 600ml double cream 1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard

For the crumble top:

250g fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs 60g pumpkin seeds 60g dried apricots, chopped Zest of 1 orange 8 sage leaves, finely chopped 90g butter, melted Cracked black pepper 25cm round casserole dish or roasting tray Method: Place your chicken pieces in a heavy-bottomed pan that fits them snugly, then pour over the milk and water. Add the bay leaves, peppercorns, thyme sprigs, garlic and onion. Bring up to a simmer on a medium heat and leave to gently cook for about 30 minutes, until the chicken is very tender and starting to fall apart.

While the chicken is cooking, preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan) and then get on with the sauce. Heat the oil in a large saucepan,

then add the onion and thyme and sauté over a medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent. Pour in the white wine, turn up to a high heat and bring to a rolling boil.

Reduce the wine by half, then add the double cream and again bring up to a boil and reduce by half (you may need to turn the heat down a little to stop the cream boiling over). Stir in the wholegrain mustard.

Put your leeks, carrot and celery into a large bowl. Drain the cooked chicken and, when it’s cool enough to handle, shred it into the bowl with the vegetables. Pour the sauce over the top, season, then stir to combine. Scrape the filling into your dish.

Put the breadcrumbs into a bowl and add the pumpkin seeds, dried apricots, orange zest, sage, melted butter and plenty of cracked black pepper. Mix it all through with your hands, squeezing and rubbing between your fingers to make a crumble. Sprinkle the crumble over the chicken/vegetable filling and bake for 30 minutes until hot in the middle and golden brown and crispy on top.