Chicken & Vegetable Pie

📝 Ingredients

• 500 g chicken breast
• 2 carrots (about 100 g each)
• 250 g button mushrooms
• 150 g frozen peas
• 1 brown onion (about 120 g)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 25 g unsalted butter + 35 g plain flour (for the béchamel)
• 450 ml semi-skimmed milk
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 sheet of puff pastry (about 230 g)
• 1 egg yolk + 1 tsp water (for glazing)
• Salt, black pepper, nutmeg

🍴 Utensils

• Large frying pan
• Saucepan
• Whisk
• 24 cm round ovenproof dish
• Pastry brush
• Cutting board and knife

📖 Steps

1. Peel the carrots and cut them into small 5 mm dice, finely slice the onion, wipe the mushrooms clean, trim the earthy ends of the stalks and slice them thinly. Cut the chicken into 2 cm dice.
2. Heat the oil in the large frying pan over a high heat and sear the chicken pieces for 4 to 5 min, stirring, until white and lightly golden: they don't need to be cooked through, they'll finish in the oven. Season with salt and pepper and tip them into the dish.
3. In the same pan, over a medium heat, fry the onion and carrots for 5 min. Add the mushrooms and cook for 6 to 7 min until all their liquid has evaporated (otherwise the pastry will go soggy). Add the frozen peas and thyme, stir for 1 min and tip into the dish.
4. Preheat the oven to 200 °C. For the béchamel, melt the butter in the saucepan over a medium heat, add the flour all at once and whisk for 1 to 2 min until the mixture foams without browning: this is the roux, which will thicken the sauce.
5. Pour in the cold milk a little at a time, whisking constantly to avoid lumps, then cook for 5 to 6 min over a medium-low heat, whisking, until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Season with salt and pepper and grate in a little nutmeg.
6. Pour the béchamel over the chicken and vegetables, stir to coat everything well and smooth the surface. Leave to cool for 10 min: a piping hot filling would melt the butter in the pastry, so it wouldn't rise properly.
7. Unroll the puff pastry over the dish, trim the excess leaving a 1.5 cm border and fold it down against the sides, pressing to seal. Cut a few leaves from the trimmings and lay them on top, then make a 1 cm hole in the centre to let the steam escape.
8. Beat the egg yolk with the water and brush it over the pastry and decorations, without letting it drip down the edges, or they won't rise. Bake for 30 min at 200 °C until the pastry is well risen and golden. Leave to rest for 5 min before serving.