How To Make Leftover Chicken Pie

The remains of about half a large chicken is perfect for this with cooked leftover sausages, potatoes, carrots and whatever else you can find; ham, bacon, mushrooms, spinach, peas or sweetcorn. The only thing that really matters is that there’s lots of chunky stuff in the pie, as opposed to a few little bits and pieces floating around in a sea of gravy – which is what the so-called ‘family pies’ you find in the supermarket consist of. Unless you’re a keen and very experienced pastry maker (which is highly unlikely if you’re reading this book) it’s better – and much, much quicker – to use ready-made puff pastry, either fresh or frozen, than do it yourself.

1. Step 1:

   Lightly grease the sides of a very large ovenproof dish (roughly 16 in x 10½ in/40 cm x 26 cm) with butter or margarine. Warm a little oil in a very large saucepan and fry the onion for

2. Step 2:

   After a few minutes add the tin of condensed soup to the pan then fill the empty tin

3. Step 3:

   Add some fresh torn up spinach and/or a drained tin of sweetcorn to the pan, season with salt and pepper and keep over a very low heat while you roll out the pastry.

4. Step 4:

   Roll out the whole packet of pastry until it looks about the right size to fit the dish, but try not to roll it out too large and too thin or you’ll have a lot of waste and the layer of pastry on the pie won’t be thick enough to puff up properly.

5. Step 5:

   Put the filling into the dish then cover with the pastry, tucking the ends in around the edges

6. Step 6:

   Brush the pastry with milk and bake the pie in the oven, Gas mark 6–7 (200–220°C) for 15–20 minutes until the pastry is risen and golden.

7. Step 7:

   Serve with any kind of potatoes, more vegetables or baked beans.

8. Leftover cooked chicken goes even further if you mince it. Minced chicken mixed with tarragon, salt, black pepper, a very little lemon juice and mayonnaise makes a great sandwich filling.