Recipe: Spring Chicken and Fennel Pie | FOOD

I love a pie especially in the winter when it’s cold and dark outside but this Spring Chicken and Fennel pie is a little bit lighter, making it a really tasty pie for spring. It’s packed full of veggies such as carrots, and broccoli and the fennel really stands out, bringing the pie to life. The secret ingrediant is the mustard which you add at the end and although I’m not normally a mustard fan it takes the dish to the next level.

I like to enjoy this pie with a side of mashed potatoes and some extra veggies. In this recipe I’m topping the pie with some ready made shortcrust pastry but I’ve also topped with pie with mashed potato for an all in one approach and for a lighter approach, I’ve added little pastry hats to the pie instead of covering the whole dish with pastry.

Keep scrolling for the recipe!

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Chicken and Fennel Pie – The Recipe

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS

4 tbsp olive oil

4 carrots, peeled and chopped into small chunks

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 fennel bulbs chopped into wedges

500g chicken breast, diced

1 glass of dry white wine

2 tbsp plain flour

600ml chicken stock

250ml double cream

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1 head of broccoli, chopped into small trees

1 sheet of ready rolled puff pastry

Jus Rol Shortcrust Pastry ready rolled sheet (320g)

Beaten egg (to glaze)

METHOD

1. Start by heating the oil in a large pan and fry off the carrots and onions over a medium heat to soften for five minutes.
2. Add the garlic and fennel into the pan and cook for another five minutes until softened and beginning to brown.
3. Add the chicken into the pan and seal so that the chicken is white all over.
4. Next, add the white wine into the pan and reduce down until the liquid has gone down by half.
5. Stir in the flour so that everything is finely coasted and add in the hot chicken stock.
6. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes until the sauce has started to thicken and the chicken is cooked all the way through.
7. Stir in the cream and the mustard, before adding the broccoli trees.
8. Transfer the mixture to a casserole or pie dish and leave to cool.
9. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and cover the pie with pastry
10. Trim off any pastry excess and crimp down the edges. Don’t forget to make some slots in the middle to let out steam
11. Bake the pie for 30 minutes until the pastry has turned golden brown. Serve with fluffy mashed potatoes.

What’s your favourite pie? I love this one but my favourite is my steak and ale pie.

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