So let's get to it and bake!
Vegetarian Chicken & leek Pie.
Yield: 3 individual pies
Serves: 3
Difficulty: Easy - Moderate
Freezable: Yes
Time: about 45 minutes hands on; about 40 minutes bake time.
You will need:
2 x Small Pans
Wooden Spoon
1 x Frying Pan
2 x Mixing Bowls
Rolling Pin
3 x Dariole Moulds (ours hold 6 floz / 160ml)
Pastry Brush
Baking Tray (large enough to hold the dariole moulds)
Cup / Glass / spare Dariole Mould with the same diameter as those used for the pies
Paring Knife, or similar
Pastry Brush
For the Hot Water Crust Pastry
112g Plain Flour,
22g Strong White Flour, plus extra for rolling
30g + 30g Chilled Butter
Pinch Salt
65ml Boiling Water
pinch Salt
1 beaten Egg or Milk to glaze
For the White Sauce Filling and Filling
35g Butter
35g Plain Flour
250ml Milk
Seasoning
Garlic Puree
Vegetable Oil
120g prepared Leeks, washed, trimmed, halved & sliced (approx 1 large leek)
3 Quorn Chicken Fillets (I used these frozen quorn fillets)
How to make them:
1. Make the White Sauce.
Place 35g of butter in small pan and set over a medium heat to
melt. Tip in the flour. Use the wooden spoon to stir the
flour into the melted butter to make a thick smooth paste. Slowly add
the milk to the paste, stirring all of the time allowing the milk
to fully combine with the paste before adding more. Once all of the
milk has been incorporated allow the sauce to cook for a few minutes on
a low heat, stirring all of the time. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper to taste and stir again. Add a teaspoon of garlic puree and stir again. Taste adding a little more garlic and seasoning if desired. Take off the
hob heat and set aside to cool.
2. Cook the leeks. Place a tablespoon of oil into a frying pan and set over a medium heat. Add the prepared leeks and cook gently until they have softened, though are not coloured. This may take around 5 - 8 minutes. Move the leeks around the pan periodically. Once cooked tip the leeks into a bowl to cool.
3. Cook the 'chicken' pieces. Wipe clean the frying pan. Add a tablespoon of oil to the frying pan and set over a moderate heat. Add the three quorn chicken fillets and allow to partially cook until lightly golden for around 6-8 minutes, turning them over half way through. The 'chicken' pieces will finish cooking in the oven once the pie is assembled. Remove the fillets from the frying pan and place onto a plate. Use a knife to cut them into bite sized chunks. Set aside to cool.
4. Combine the filling. Stir the cooled white sauce until smooth again. Place the cooked leeks and prepared vegetarian 'chicken' pieces into a good sized bowl. Pour over the white sauce and mix until well distributed.
5. Make the pastry. Place the two flours, salt, 30g chilled butter into a medium bowl. Use a knife to cube the butter into small pieces. Gently rub the butter between your thumbs and finger tips until the flour and butter resembles fine breadcrumbs. Place 30g butter into the small pan and add the boiling water. Set over a low heat to allow the butter to melt . Make a well in the centre of the breadcrumbs and add most of the fatty hot water. Stir with a knife to bring together, adding more of the liquid as necessary to make a dough which is soft and pliable but not sticky.
6. Line the dariole moulds. Place the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide into 4 equal pieces (3 for the pie's sides and the fourth for their lids). Cover them with cling film. Partially roll one of the pastry pieces into a circle. Lift it and place into the dariole mould. Use your thumbs to shape the pastry into the dariole mould, bringing the pastry just beyond the rim. Try not to make the pastry too thin. Should a hole develop simply patch it with some excess pastry. Repeat with the other 2 dariole moulds.
7. Fill the pies. Use a teaspoon to fill the pastry cases with the chicken and leek mixture. Be generous, bringing it almost to the top of the pie case.
8. Cover with the pastry lids. Roll out the remaining piece of pastry. Use the cup / glass as a stencil to cut around to make 3 pastry discs. Carefully lift a pastry disc and place on top of a pie. Use a paring knife, or similar, to trim off any excess pastry. Use your two index fingers and thumb to crimp the edge of the pastry to seal. Use a paring knife to cut an air hole in the pastry lid. Repeat with the remaining two pies. Place into the fridge until you're ready to cook them.
9. Preheat the oven to 210c / 190 Fan / Gas 7
10. Bake. Paint a little beaten egg or milk to the crust, the egg will give it a more golden colour once baked. Place the pies onto a baking tray and sit them in the centre of the oven. Bake for about 40 minutes. You may need to rotate them after 30 minutes of cooking. Once golden and cooked through remove them from the oven, gently tip the pies from the dariole moulds. Serve as desired.
Enjoy!
Notes:
a) Allow the filling to completely cool before making the pastry.
b) Work swiftly (but safely) when making and working with the pastry.
c) Allow the butter to melt slowly in the hot water, boiling it will reduce the volume of liquid and potentially result in there being insufficient liquid to make the pastry.
d) Avoid getting egg wash onto the side of the dariole mould as this will act as a glue resulting in the pie sticking to the mould.
Nico @ yumsome says
I haven't had chicken pie since I was at school... and I got put off because the leftovers would be fed to the chickens on the school farm!
Your veggie version sounds much nicer, and so easy to veganise too (I'd use my own chikkin seitan instead of Quorn). I love that you made little ones too - I have to do that because K isn't a pastry fan (yeah, I know, I know)!
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
Ewe, I'm not surprised - that doesn't sound very nice at all!
Yes, I'd imagine it would be easy to veganise Nico, and I believe Quorn are even starting to produce a handful of vegan products now, so I guess that would be useful whn you're back in the UK. Small pies are just perfet for hubby & I - great to freeze - and I guess K could just have the filling with your your side dish. Not like pastry! 😉
Angela x
Sharon A. Baker says
awesome post
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
Thankyou Sharon 🙂
Angela x
Corina says
These little pies look delightful! I've never worked with hot water pastry before either but you've made it sound easier than I've always thought it would be. Thank you so much for joining in with #CookOnceEatTwice x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
Thank you Corina, they were very yummy 🙂 Hot water crust pastry is do lovely to work with, it's so forgiving and straightforward to pull together, the only draw back is having to work swiftly with it.
Thanks for popping by and of course for hosting,
Angela x
Jenny - Monkey and Mouse says
This looks great, the hot water pastry sounds easy enough to make and very tasty, although I doubt mine would look as good as yours. I'm a pescatarian as I like fish, but not interested in other meat. I love Quorn, they are great for adding to different meals like I would with chicken for my husband (we often cook two separate meals! Thanks so much for linking up to #HowtoSunday 🙂 x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
Thank you Jenny 🙂 Hot water crust is a great pastry - it's lovely to handle and really quite forgiving, I'm sure you'd make a great pie with it 🙂 Quorns great isn't it, it so versatile and can be used in all manner of 'meat' based dishes.
Thanks for popping by jenny and of course for hosting your great linky,
Angela x
Charlotte TheMummyToolbox says
This looks delicious! I have never tried a chicken substitute before so looks like an interesting alternative for us, even though we aren't vegetarian it is great to try new things. Thanks for linking up to #YumTum this week 🙂
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
Ooh you must try it at some point Charlotte. It's so easy to use, comparatively cheap, can be cooked from frozen and is a great protein as well! It would make a lovely change to using meat occasionally.
Thanks for popping by and commenting, and of course for hosting.
Angela x
Charlotte Oates says
I've not tried hot water crust pastry as I know how quickly you have to work with it and I'm a shocker for getting sidetracked. I impulse bought myself a pork pie dolly on Christmas day in the Lakeland sale so I really need to get on and use it! Yours look lovely and I couldn't notice the cracking.
I've only just realised you're vegetarian - I clearly need to pay more attention 🙂
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
Now that you have a dolly Charlotte you have to make a batch of hot water crust pastry. I know what you mean though about getting side tracked, I often find that happens to me too. I'll see something that needs doing and end up tackling that rather than carrying on with the original task in hand!
It's a lovely pastry to work with Charlotte, so soft and (obviously) warm.
Hahaha, yup we live in a vegetarian household 😉 This said, strictly speaking I'm not actually a vegetarian any longer. I became a vegetarian at around 18 and after about 14 or 15 years I realised I needed a little more protein in my diet and so I now occasionally eat fish or chicken. Mr E is still a fully signed up member so rather than preparing two different meals I always make vegetarian friendly food for the both of us (I'll tend to have a little fish or chicken when we eat out or if I'm eating alone).
Thanks for your lovely comments Charlotte,
Angela x
Life Loving says
I love the look of these. We sometimes cook the pre-made quorn 'chicken' and leek pies, but these look super tasty. I find it's a nice treat at a weekend to have a pie and some veg, much like your dish. I'll definitely be following your recipe if I choose to make my own.
Sally @ Life Loving
#HowtoSunday
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
I must be honest Sally, OH and I occasionally have the pre-made quorn chicken and leek pies when we have one of those days and can't be bothered with anything homemade (yes it does happen even for those of us who love to bake). Those pre-made pies actually inspired this dish because we often find that shop bought pies are often a little shy as far as the filling is concerned. There's often plenty of white sauce / gravy but very little 'meat' / quorn / vegetables.
Do let me know how you get on with it if you give a try one day Sally,
Thanks for popping by,
Angela x
Sarah CraftInvaders says
The pies look fab, and the cracks add to their charm in my opinion. I love the idea of using a hot water crust. Really yummy looking pies 🙂
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
Thank you Sarah, you're too kind 🙂
Angela x
Mandy Mazliah says
This looks really tasty. I haven't had much luck with getting my kids to eat pie but they've started to like Quorn chicken in stir fry lately so this would be a good one to try. And who cares about cracked pastry! These look great. #CookBlogShare
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
Thank you Mandy, if your young-ones like quorn in stir fries I'm sure this would be great to try too as the filling is really tastey 🙂
Thanks for popping by Mandy,
Angela x
Hayley @ Snap Happy Bakes says
These look so tasty. I dont often make pies but I now think I need to! Thanks for linking to #CookBlogShare
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
Hahaha 🙂 We don't make them overly often but they are welcome when the evenings are still chilly.
Thanks for popping by and of course for hosting,
Angela x
Mummy In a TuTu says
As a lifelong veggie and a keen cook these look soooo good and great to make. They've just jumped up my to do list... thanks!!
#tastytuesday
http://www.mummyinatutu.co.uk
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
Excellent 🙂 I'm so glad you like the sound of them, do let me know how you get on with them.
Thanks for popping by and commenting,
Angela x
Corina says
I love chicken and leek pies although I've never cooked with quorn before. The pastry for the pies looks perfect - I've never made a hot water crust before and I think the reason why is that I don't use lard and I'd have to specially buy it for the pie so it's good to know that it can be made with butter and is still good. Thank you for joining in with #CookOnceEatTwice
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
It's such a classic combo isn't it, perfect for these (still) chilly evenings. The pastry was really tasty with the all butter and worked really well.
Thanks for popping by and of course for hosting,
Angela x
Emma Dowey says
These look really good. Am always on the lookout for new veggie recipes to try 🙂 #yumtum
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
Aw thank you Emma, we really enjoyed them and I know we'll certainly make them again. Do let me know how you get on with it if you give it a try,
Thanks for popping over and commenting,
Angela x
Kay Brown says
I've never dared to make hot water crust pastry but your instructions make it sound a lot more manageable that I think I've been giving it credit for!
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
Honestly Kay, it's a really straight forward pastry. I must admit that I was a little hesitant making it for the first time last year but it's lovely to work with as long as you work swiftly. In the past I have tried raising up around the outside of a 'dolly' in the traditional manner for a pork pie - that is a lot more difficult but by simply lining a deep mould you should have no trouble.
Do let me know how you get on if you try the pastry Kay,
Thanks for popping by and commenting.
Angela x
Eb Gargano says
Quorn's fab - such a useful and versatile ingredient. I usually keep a pack of the pieces and a pack of the mince in my freezer for whipping up quick, cheap and healthy midweek meals. I especially love that you can use it from frozen. I make a puff pastry version of this - it's on the blog too - it's actually one of my most popular recipes! I love your little twist, using hot water pastry - I'm not sure I've ever made hot crust pastry - I will have to give it a go one day...and I am definitely with Mr E - all butter pastry tastes the best! 🙂 Eb x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
I love quorn - it's so good, like you say it's brilliant being able to cook it from frozen making meal time far more hassle free. You have to try making hot water crust pastry - it's so easy to do and the taste is certainly worth that bit of effort. He was certainly right, the extra butter in the pastry certainly brought extra flavour to the pie.
I'll pop over and check out your puff pastry version - sounds yummy 🙂
Thanks for popping by and commenting Eb,
Angela x
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins says
Chicken and leek pie is one of my favourites. These vegetarian alternatives look just as good! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
Aw thank you Kirsty, they're so comforting aren't they - especially when the weather is a little chilly.
Thanks for popping by, and of course for hosting,
Angela x
Jibber JabberUK says
I find the Quorn chicken style pieces so versatile and easy to use. Love the look of this pie.
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
They're great aren't they, they lend themselves to so many great 'meat' styled vegetarian dishes.
Thanks for popping by and commenting,
Angela x
The Intolerant Gourmand says
This looks sooo good!! Will definitely be trying out this recipe! 🙂 #cookblogshare
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain says
Thank you 🙂 They really were really delicious, I'd love to know how you get on with it,
Thanks for popping by and commenting,
Angela x