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Chicken, Bacon & Leek Pie

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Servings: 6 adults
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 150 g shortcut bacon diced
  • 1 leek white part only, thinly sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic crushed
  • 3 sprigs thyme leaves
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 250 ml bone broth or chicken stock approximately, or enough to come halfway up the chicken
  • 700 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs (approximately 5 thighs)
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1 TBSP crème fraîche or sour cream
  • 1 TBSP plain flour (or cassava flour or cornflour if gluten free)
  • 2 TBSP water
  • salt to taste
  • 1 roll Careme Puff Pastry thawed (= 2 sheets puff pastry)
  • 1 egg beaten

Equipment

  • 1 Slow Cooker

Method
 

  1. If your slow cooker has a Sauté or Brown function, use it for the first few steps. If not, complete them in a large frying pan before transferring everything to your slow cooker.
  2. Cook the bacon until lightly golden.
  3. Add the leek and cook for 5–7 minutes until softened. Stir through the garlic, thyme leaves and smoked paprika and cook for another minute until fragrant.
  4. Deglaze with a splash of the bone broth, scraping up any browned bits from the base.
  5. Add the remaining broth, chicken thighs and bay leaves. The liquid should come roughly halfway up the chicken, not completely cover it.
  6. Cook on Low for 4 hours, or until the chicken is tender and easily shreds.
  7. Remove and discard the bay leaves, then shred the chicken directly into the sauce using two forks.
  8. Stir through the Dijon mustard, frozen peas and crème fraîche.
  9. If the filling isn't thick enough to hold its shape when spooned, whisk together the flour and water to make a smooth slurry, ensuring there are no lumps. Stir it into the slow cooker and cook on the Reduce setting (or High, if your slow cooker doesn't have a Reduce setting) for around 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Cooking the slurry is important so the flour cooks through and doesn't leave a raw, floury taste. If your slow cooker doesn't have a suitable setting for thickening sauces, transfer the filling to a saucepan over medium heat or an ovenproof dish in the oven until thickened, stirring occasionally.
  10. Taste and season with salt as needed.
    Preheat the oven to 200°C fan-forced.
  11. Divide the filling between individual pie dishes or spoon into one large pie dish.
    Top with puff pastry, trimming to fit if needed, then brush with the beaten egg.
  12. Bake for 15–20 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and golden brown.
    Allow to cool for 5–10 minutes before serving.

Notes

Ingredient Swaps
Chicken thighs → Bone-in chicken thighs (remove the bones before serving) or chicken breast. If using chicken breast, halve each breast and reduce the cooking time to around 2½–3 hours on Low.
Leek → 1 brown onion
Crème fraîche → Sour cream, thickened cream or Greek yoghurt (stir the yoghurt through after cooking to prevent splitting)
Frozen peas → Corn, chopped green beans or baby spinach
Bone broth → Chicken stock
Puff pastry → Mashed potato for a cottage pie-style topping
Dietary Swaps
Gluten free: Use cornflour or cassava flour for thickening and gluten-free puff pastry, or use a mashed potato topping,
Dairy free: Replace the crème fraîche with a dairy-free cooking cream or coconut cream, or simply omit it.
 
Egg free: Omit the egg wash and brush the pastry with a little milk (or dairy-free milk) or olive oil before baking for a beautifully golden finish.