My mum had once told me before that when she was still carrying me, she always had a craving for chicken pies besides nasi lemak (even in the wee hours of the night) though it wasn’t her favourite type of food. Seemed like I was born to eat chicken pies, lol. If my memory serves me right, chicken pies with flaky pastry were something that could easily excite me as a kid as compared to candies which I never was that fond of (well except Chupa Chups!). I had tried making pastries from scratch but it was just too much of a hassle so I’d prefer to use frozen puff pastry instead. This recipe is a really quick one because normally I’d use fresh chicken broth to cook the filling but I chose to use canned soup this time round as I hadn’t had cream of chicken for a long time and was missing that nostalgic taste. Plus only a pastry topping is required. Oh man, what a comforting pot pie indeed. Crispy, flaky pastry topping and a rich, creamy, almost soupy filling. Friday night dinners should always be like this!
Tip: Brush the surface with egg wash to achieve this tantalising golden brown crust! Looks yummy, doesn’t it?
Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
Ingredients (serves 4)
375g frozen puff pastry
1 can cream of chicken soup 300g
1/4 cup skimmed milk
300g chicken breast
3 cups frozen mixed vegetables
200g button mushrooms
freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
1. Thaw the puff pastry at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours. Roll the pastry on a lightly floured surface to the shape of your oven dish till it’s about 3mm thick.
2. Preheat oven to 180 deg C with fan.
3. In a pot, combine the soup, milk, chicken, mixed vegetables and mushrooms. Bring to a gentle boil and then simmer till chicken is cooked through. Crack in some black pepper.
4. Pour the chicken soup mixture into a 10″ x 6″ oven dish. Cover with the puff pastry, ensuring it is properly folded over the edges of the oven dish.
5. Using a knife, make a few slits on the pastry to create vents.
6. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes till the puff pastry is golden brown and crispy.
This recipe allows a lot more flexibility in terms of ingredients so you can use any vegetables of your choice (preferably ‘hard’ ones like broccoli, cauliflower, celery so they don’t get soggy or mushy easily). Enjoy!