Meat Market

The perfect pie ingredient.

A: I have always been a breast man.

C: *chokes on his food*

A: What’s wrong with you? I’m talking chicken. I have always been a breast man, but I think 2021 is the year of the thigh.

C: I think coming out of Covid, thighs are thick and chunky, so let’s celebrate them. They’re bigger and better.

A: We’ve all piled it on. We’re all a bit chunky, we’re all a bit thick…

C: Everyone cooks at home now and this is a comfort food. Chicken and leek is a base. A: Why is thigh good for a pie? Because it’s thick. ‘Thicc’! Anyway, what makes a good pie? It’s pastry…

C: You blanch the chicken thighs on the bone with stock and a bit of thyme, peppercorns, bay leaves and garlic.

A: A pie can never go out of fashion.

C: Like the chef and the butcher! You can find a critic and a comic anywhere, chefs and butchers know wine and they tell jokes! A: We’re like bitcoin! Pies are great because it’s really hard to muck them up, but you need to use the right meat.

C: If you use breast over thigh, or leg over shoulder, you’re more likely to end up with a dry pie.

A: My favourite pie combos are the classics. Steak and kidney, or chicken and leek. You can’t go wrong. We’re marking 12 months of Covid here. This is our food vaccine. Humble, hearty, heart-warming and reliable. But we’ve added pancetta so it’s a bit ‘bougie’.

C: We all spent 2020 in the pandemic, stuck at home, craving road-trip pies, so this is all that nostalgia but a bit luxurious. A: Yes, lush. 2021 is about the chef and the butcher going luxury. Hello, Gucci? If you want to come and sponsor the chef and the butcher, call us.

CHICKEN, LEEK, MUSHROOM & PANCETTA PIE

SERVES 6-8

2 tbs extra virgin

olive oil 80g unsalted butter 200g pancetta, cut

into lardons 2 small leeks, thinly sliced 3 garlic cloves, crushed 2 tbs each finely chopped tarragon,

flat-leaf parsley and thyme

200g each Swiss brown, shimeji and button mushrooms, trimmed 1/4 cup (60ml) Pernod 55g plain flour 2 cups (500ml) strained poaching liquid

from the poached chicken (below) 300ml pure (thin) cream

140g finely grated parmesan

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (we used

Carême brand), defrosted

1 egg, lightly beaten,

for wash

POACHED CHICKEN

1.5kg skinless chicken thigh fillets 4 cups (1L) good-quality chicken stock 6 thyme sprigs

5 whole black peppercorns

3 bay leaves

2 garlic cloves, bruised

For the poached chicken, place all the ingredients in a large saucepan over high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until chicken is cooked. Remove from the heat and place chicken in a bowl and tear into chunks. Strain stock and reserve, discarding the solids.

Heat a large, deep heavy-based nonstick frypan over high heat. Add oil and butter with the pancetta, leek, garlic and herbs. Cook, stirring frequently, for 6-8 minutes until leek has softened and pancetta starts to brown. Add the mushrooms and cook for a further 5-6 minutes until the mushrooms have softened. Add Pernod, scraping the bottom of the pan with a spoon and reduce until evaporated.

Scatter over flour and cook, stirring continuously, for 1-2 minutes until flour is toasted. Stir in reserved stock, cream and parmesan, and bring to the boil. Simmer for 8-10 minutes until very thick. Stir in chicken, season to taste and remove from the heat. Refrigerate until cooled completely.

Transfer cooled mixture to a round 2.25L-capacity pie or ovenproof dish. Top with pastry and press to seal, trimming edges to fit if needed. Pierce a hole in the centre of the pastry to release steam while cooking. Brush pastry with egg wash, scatter over freshly ground black pepper and sea salt. Bake for 45 minutes or until the pastry is golden. Serve immediately.