An up-and-coming chef has shared his favourite chicken pot pie recipe.
With winter getting colder and colder, many would like to have a warm filling meal to get them through the cold nights. Emmarentia-based chef and catering company founder Koketjo Semenya has a solution to this with his signature chicken pot pie dish. The Northcliff Melville Times was got the recipe from the chef himself.
Ingredients
- 500 grams chicken breast
- Salt and pepper
- Oil
- Onion
- Crushed garlic
- Mixed herbs and oregano
- Chicken noodle soup
- Chopped chilli
- Two bay leaves
- One cup of mixed vegetables
- Butter
- Flour
- Milk
- 200 grams cheddar cheese
- Packet of mushrooms
- Puff pastry
- Egg
Method
Part one: Chicken strips
- Season the chicken breast with salt and pepper and leave for 10 minutes
- Cut chicken into small strips
- Heat oil on medium heat in a saucepan and then add your chicken strips and slightly saute
- As the chicken changes to a golden brown colour, remove from the pan and put it in a bowl
- Add a chopped onion to the remaining oil along with crushed garlic, half a teaspoon of mixed herbs and oregano and saute until onions are golden brown
- Add chicken noodle soup to the mixture and let simmer until the sauce begins to thicken
- Add the chopped chilli and two bay leaves and let it cook for five minutes
- Add mixed vegetables and the sauteed chicken strips.
Part 2: Mushroom sauce
- Add a tablespoon of butter to a saucepan on a low to medium heat and let it melt
- When it begins to bubble, add two tablespoons of flour and mix together
- Add 300ml of milk and stir until it begins to thicken
- Add grated cheddar cheese slowly while stirring. Add a pinch of salt while stirring.
- Add sliced mushrooms and let boil for three to five minutes while frequently stirring.
Part 3: Pot pie
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees
- Mix chicken strips and mushroom sauce and let simmer for 10 minutes
- Coat pie tray with butter and put a sheet of puff pastry on the surface and then trim the sides
- Add the mixture of chicken strips and sauce
- Place another layer of puff pastry
- Trim the edges and seal it all around by pressing a fork against the edges
- Puncture the middle of the pie with a fork
- Beat an egg in a small bowl and baste the top of the pie
- Cut the remaining puff pastry into long strips
- Line the strips on top of the pie in a criss-cross. Baste this with beaten egg
- Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, until it is golden and shiny
- Let pie cool for 5 minutes and it will be ready to serve.