Chicken pie with crumble crust
It’s hard to resist a pie – and with this crumble topped version, you don’t need to as it only has a single tablespoon of butter and little bit of oil. Likewise, the filling. The result is the best of both worlds - an unexpectedly sumptuous take on chicken pie with a fabulous flaky crust. You'll need individual ramekins or baking dishes that can hold 1 1/2 to 2 cups each
Ingredients
Method
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 450g skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized chunks
- ¾ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Black pepper
- 1 Small onion, diced
- 150g Button mushrooms, quartered
- 2 stalks Celery, diced
- 200g Green beans, trimmed and cut into 1cm lengths
- 2 cloves Chopped garlic
- 2 cups Chicken stock
- 1½ cups Trim milk
- ⅓ cup Wholemeal flour, Pams brand
- ¾ cup Frozen garden peas, Pams brand
- 1 tsp Chopped thyme
- 2 Tbsp Chopped flat-leaf parsley
The Crust
- ⅔ cup Wholemeal flour, Pams brand
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 1 Tbsp Trim milk
- 2 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp Cold butter
- ½ tsp Chopped thyme
Method
1. For the filling: Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Use a little oil to grease the inside of the ramekins or baking dishes and place them on a baking sheet. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the chicken and cook for about 5 minutes until it is nicely browned. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
3. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan, then add onion, celery and mushrooms; cook for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have released their moisture and it has evaporated. Add green beans, garlic, salt and pepper; cook for 1 minute more.
4. Pour in the stock and increase the heat to high. Pour the milk into a measuring cup, then stir in the flour until it has dissolved. Pour the mixture into the pan; cook, stirring, until the mixture comes just to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low; cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, then return the chicken to the pan along with the peas, parsley and thyme. Stir until evenly coated and then divide filling among ramekins.
5. For the crust: Whisk together the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk the milk into the oil in a small bowl until it creates thickens to a cloudy emulsion. Add butter to the flour mixture and work it in with your fingers until the butter is the size of small pebbles. Drizzle with the oil mixture, then add the thyme. Combine with a fork until crumbly, then use your fingers to bring it together so all the flour is evenly moistened.
6. Lightly flour a work surface. Shape the dough mixture into 4 small rounds. Place them on the work surface, then use the heel of your hand to flatten each round as thin as possible. Tear flake-like pieces of the flattened dough, using one round per dish, and arrange on top of each potpie to make a rustic, crumbly topping that covers the filling.
7. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven; bake for about 20 minutes, or until the mixture is bubbling and the crust is golden brown.