I love pies, especially a rustic homemade one with real pastry. If you’re in a rush though, just grab some prerolled pastry from the supermarket. This version is a favourite of mine because you don’t need a pie dish or any sort of tin or mould, you don’t need to bake anything blind and there is no waiting around for the pastry to rest. You just roll it out, put the filling in, seal it and bake. I use chicken thighs for a better more meaty chicken flavour. Experiment with different fillings and combinations.
For the pie pastry
| 2 ½ cups | Flour |
| 1 cup | Cold butter, diced |
| ½ tsp | Salt |
| 6 Tbsp | Iced water |
For the pie filling
| 2 Tbsp | Rice bran oil |
| 500 g | Boneless chicken thighs (Main) |
| 4 rashers | Bacon, sliced into 1 cm strips (Main) |
| ½ | Onions, diced |
| 1 tsp | Garlic, grated |
| 4 | Large ripe tomatoes (Main) |
| ½ cup | Breadcrumbs |
| 1 | Egg |
| 1 cup | Grated tasty cheese |
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Directions
- For the pie pastry:Place flour, butter and salt in the food processor and blitz until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add water and blitz for 5 seconds. Tip out on bench then using your hands work the mixture into a dough then roll into a ball. Divide in half.
- Roll each piece to form a large circle about the size of a dinner plate. To make it easier to handle, I like to roll the dough on a piece of baking paper.
- For the pie filling: In a large frying pan heat the oil until hot, season the chicken thighs with salt then cook for 4-5 minutes on each side or until caramelised and golden brown. Remove and allow to cool, then dice.
- Add bacon to the pan and cook until browned, add onion and garlic. Cook on a low heat until the onion begins to soften.
- Cut tomatoes in half, remove the seeds then dice into 1 cm chunks. Add tomatoes, diced chicken and breadcrumbs to the pan. Season with freshly ground pepper. Tip out on to a tray to cool.
- Heat oven to 200C.
- Whisk egg with ¼ tsp salt to make the egg wash. Slide pastry disc with paper on to a baking tray. Spoon chicken mix into the centre and flatten out to form a circle approx 28 cm. Sprinkle cheese over the top. Lightly brush the edge of the pastry with egg wash.
- Place the second piece of pastry on top, press the edges down firmly. Cut a circle then pinch the edge firmly closed. Brush with egg wash. Cut small holes to allow steam to escape. Bake for 35-40 minutes until pastry is crisp and golden.
