whirlwind of pie

i have to admit i made this with no help from the kids. i had a rather lovely and rare two hours to myself in the middle of the day. after accomplishing nothing for the first hour and a half i realised my little cherubs would be home soon and the house was a mess and i had nothing prepared for dinner. i cleaned up the kitchen only to decimate it again in a whirlwind of pie making. 

i made a simple shortcrust pastry and stuck it in the fridge while i improvised on the filling. the kids got home while i was in full-flow... unable to stop and determined to finish my pie. little mr z walked up and down the kitchen asking to watch Postman Pat and singing the theme tune over and over again, each time ending in an operatic crescendo of "Pat feels he's a very happy man!!" which was heart-warming, despite the repetition. little miss m meanwhile went through the pantry cupboard and slowly, subtly emptied an entire bag of buckwheat and a fair amount of pasta on to the floor (be warned buckwheat rolls beautifully across a smooth floor and gets in to every crevice!). as he swept up, little mr z told her "i don't like this mess. i don't want to see this ever again." i know how he feels.

i finally popped the pie in the oven and dragged both kids out to the shop to get essential milk supplies. i decided we all needed some fresh air and exercise and told mr z he could watch Postman Pat when we got home if he walked all the way to the shop and back. needless to say we had a lovely sunny walk to the shop and a disaster return journey. it was almost dark and totally freezing. little miss m gave up and went in the pushchair, little mr z sobbed the entire way home, nose streaming and only letting up on the crying front in order to let his hacking cough take over. i felt like a terrible mum. i was that mum that i would have looked at years ago and thought "she is so mean striding along with a sobbing child next to her.. how awful, not to mention that poor boy shouldn't be out this late or in this weather with that awful cough he has! i would never let my child cry like that - she clearly has no control.. dear me. why isn't she either spanking him or taking creative measures to distract him?" i knew i just needed to get poor little mr z home for his tea!

the pie looked a bit miserable when we got home. however i have to say it was really delicious, very easy to make and not sickly filling.

chicken, leek & mushroom pie

for the pastry: 
mix together 150g plain flour, a pinch of salt and 60g butter. rub with your fingertips until it feels like breadcrumbs. Add 2tbsp cold water, mix and press together in to a ball. wrap in cling film and put in the fridge.

for the filling: 

1. chop up 2 celery sticks, 2 leeks, 6 medium-sized mushrooms and 2 chicken breasts.

2. preheat the oven to 180C/350F

3. melt 50g of butter in a pan and add the chicken - stir for 2 minutes or until the chicken has just turned white. 

4. add the celery, leek and mushrooms and stir for approx 4 minutes.

5. add a few glugs of white wine and stir for a few minutes

6. add 2 tbsp plain flour and stir until the liquid has been absorbed

7. slowly add 1cup/250ml of chicken stock - stirring and letting the liquid thicken

8. add 1/2tsp pepper and 1 tspn nutmeg

9. leave to simmer for a few minutes and butter a pie dish

10. stir in 1cup/250ml of double cream to the mix. leave to simmer for a few minutes and roll out the pastry on a floured surface to the size of the pie top

11. pour the mixture in to the pie dish & place the pastry on top

12. beat an egg and brush it on top of the pastry and put in the oven for 40minutes. 

i served it up with carrots and potatoes