Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Ways with Puff Pastry - Chicken Pie & Danish Braid

At my Baking Essentials class, I mentioned that we made puff pastry - over a kilo of it each! Here is the finished product after all turns had been completed: When I finished turning and resting my pastry, I thought that the logical thing to do with part of it was to make dinner. I dug out Heavenly D'lites by Weight Watchers, and found a recipe for an Old Fashioned Chicken and Corn Pie, which was accompanied by a mouth-watering photograph that was irresistable. The top photo shows the results of my efforts. To make this pie, you will need: 600g skinless chicken breast fillets 500ml water 1/2 cup dry white wine 2 crumbled chicken stock cubes 1 cup frozen peas 2 chopped carrots 2 tablespoons cooking oil 1 chopped onion 3 tablespoons plain flour 150ml light evaporated milk 440g can corn kernels, drained 1 sheet thawed commercial puff pastry (or a piece of your own homemade puff pastry :) )

Put the chicken, water, wine and stock cubes in a fry pan, bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Reserve one cup of the stock, and chop up the chicken into 1cm chunks.

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius, and spray a 20cm pie dish with cooking oil spray.
Cook the peas and carrots in the microwave for two minutes and drain. Heat the oil in a fry pan, and cook the onion in it until soft, then stir in the flour and cook for a further two minutes.
Remove the fry pan from the heat and stir in the evaporated milk and reserved stock. Return the pan to the stove top and cook over a medium heat until the mixture thickens and boils. Stir through the chicken, corn, peas and carrots, and season with salt and pepper to taste, if desired.

Pour the chicken mixture into the oiled pie dish, and place the pastry over the top. Seal the edges of the pastry with a fork and trim off the excess. Decorate the top of the pie with pastry shapes, if desired. (I used a rooster sugarcraft cutter for this purpose.) Lightly spray the top of the pie with cooking spray, and bake for 10 minutes before lowering the oven temperature to 180 degrees Celsius and baking the pie for a further 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the cooked pie from the oven and allow to cool slightly before cutting and serving with a side of mashed potato. I had leftover puff pastry, so I made a small Danish braid filled with pear and hazelnut praline paste, and a snail mini Danish filled with praline paste:

It was fun to use my puff pastry for things other than those made or demonstrated in class, even though I am eyeing up the Diplomat torte for a future project. As for the rest of the pastry, it's a work in progress as to where it will end up.

20 comments:

  1. Danish Braid looks pretty always..
    I'd make it with a veggie filling..:))

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  2. Chicken pie was one of the recipes I used to do often before blogging. Now I hardly cook the same meal twice aa I keep making new things. Thanks for reminding me of it. Both your recipes look great but I wish I had the puff pastry recipe.

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  3. I so very much would like a taste of your Danish Braid. It sounds fabulous! And aren't you fancy making your own puff pastry and then combining 2 Daring Baker Challenges. I'm very impressed!

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  4. Lovely chicken pie it looks really rustic and delicious.

    Don't you just love having little left over bits when baking. :-D

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  5. Thanks Swati - also a good idea for some of the rest of my puff pastry.

    Hi Ivy, Will send you the recipe tonight.

    LOL, thanks Mary! Good spotting on the 2 DBs elements.

    Hi Jeena - agreed. It's nice getting two for one.

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  6. YUM YUM YUMMMY girl. I love the chicken pie...a keeper. Your puff pastry looks PERFECTO!! And love that you made Danish again...after the Db challenge. Best thing that happened to me at DBs. The mini braid & the snail are ever so cute...

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  7. I've never had a savoury pie but I'm sure carving one now!
    Can't wait to see your take on the diplomat torte.

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  8. Beautiful! and Yeah!!! for puff pastry!
    This is a staple for us and always have some ready and waiting in the freezer. We make it fresh too and just can't have it any other way.
    The dishes are just puff pastry heaven!

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  9. Chicken pie instantly reminds me of Mom's homecooked meals. Like yours, they warm your belly and your soul.

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  10. hi cakelaw
    you have done well..might as well try this weekend for my son...will surely love when i make with your recipe !

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  11. I'm impressed! I don't think I'd have the patience to make my own puff pastry. Chicken pie is a firm favourite in our home - with frozen pastry of course :)

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  12. Hi Deeba, I agree - the Danish braids are the best.

    Hi Lore, hope to do the Diplomat tort soon.

    Thanks T&D - I had never imagined you could make puff pastry at home until I joined the Daring Bakers.

    So true, Susan.

    Hi Anamika, would love to hear how you go.

    LOL Dee - believe me, I thought that puff pastry came in a box from the freezer until the Daring akers challenge on laminated doughs - I never dreamed that I could make it.

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  13. Very stylish presentation. It turns a a nice homey chicken pie into a special dish.

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  14. can i have some of the puff pastry? hehehe

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  15. Thank you so much! You are so kind.

    I love anything with puff pastry. I love that you included both a savory and sweet dish.

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  16. Uncanny - I was pondering making a pie with puff pastry at the weekend. Great minds think alike, eh?
    Looks great, by the way!

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  17. Homemade puff pastry.

    Chicken pie.

    *wipes drool from keyboard*

    If next week finds me wrestling with flour and a giant slab of butter, I am laying the blame at your feet. :P

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  18. Thanks Morven - it was fun to make the roosters.

    Hey Rita, if I could ship it to HK, it would be yours - I dunno what I am gonna do with it all.

    Thanks Katie - glad you enjoyed this post.

    Hey there Caked Crusader - it is funny how you make things, and they often pop up simultaneously on someone else's blog within such a short timeframe that it was clear that 2 independent minds shared the same great thought.

    LOL Adele - I have visions of you being attacked by a huge blanket of puff pastry.

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  19. Ooooh chicken pie one of my favs!! I am just drooling what a great chicken pie cakelaw with homemade pastry - perfect...

    Rosie x

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  20. Its done. Home made easy Puff & Pie pastry. Anyone can go with it. Nice, try now..!

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