Chicken and ham pie

Tamara West

Ingredients

50 g	Butter
180 g	Button mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced
¼ cup	Flour
1 ¼ cups	Chicken stock
½ cup	Creme fraiche
2 cups	Chicken, chopped cooked meat (Main)
½ cup	Ham, off the bone, chopped
2	Spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
2 Tbsp	Parsley, chopped
2 Tbsp	Chives, chopped
2 sheets	Butter puff pastry, slightly thawed
1	Egg, lightly beaten

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Melt 25g of the butter in a heavy-based saucepan over a low heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until soft and any juices have evaporated. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
3. Add the remaining butter and melt, then stir in the flour and cook until a pale golden colour. Add the chicken stock and cook for a further 2-3 minutes, stirring or whisking continuously until the sauce is thick. Add the crème fraiche and cook for a further 1 minute. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and set aside to cool completely. Once cold stir through the mushrooms, chicken, ham, spring onion and herbs.
4. Lightly flour the bench top and place pastry sheets one on top of the other. Roll out the pastry to a rectangle, about 30cm x 33cm. Using a large sharp knife, cut the pastry in half. Place 1 half on the lined baking tray and pile on the chicken mixture, leaving a 2cm border. Brush border with the egg wash.
5. Fold the remaining pastry in half lengthwise and again use a large sharp knife to make cuts in the folded side, 1cm apart and leaving a 2cm border on the unfolded side and ends. Carefully open the pastry out and place over the filling, pressing the edges well to seal. Trim if necessary.
6. Brush pastry top with the egg wash. Chill pie in the refrigerator for 20 minutes if time allows. Place pie in the oven and cook for 25-30 minutes until well browned and the filling is bubbling hot.
7. Serve with steamed green vegetables or a green salad.