Chicken and Tarragon Pie Recipe with Flaky Homemade Pastry
Alison Crouch, Cookery School Manager, Ferry Project Cookery School Manager
Join experienced cook, restaurant manager, recipe creator, teacher and food presenter, Alison Crouch for this session where she demonstrates how to make a decadent Chicken and Tarragon Pie, just in time for British Pie Week next week.
Alison shows you how to prepare the filling and pastry from scratch, guiding you through each stage so you can create a beautifully creamy pie with golden, flaky layers. With fresh herbs and simple ingredients, this chicken and tarragon pie recipe is both comforting and full of flavour.
About Alison:
Alison is manager of the Ferry Project Cookery School in Wisbech which teaches cooking skills. As a social enterprise, the Ferry Project Cookery School provides vocational skills and work experience in hospitality for its homeless clients, alongside training in useful cooking skills – all of which assists homeless people in their journey towards independent living.
You can find out more about the Ferry Project on their website - The Ferry Project Website
Preparation
Set out your ingredients and equipment
Video time
30 minutes
Ingredients:
For the pastry
- 300g plain flour
- a pinch of salt
- 150g butter, cold and cut into small, even pieces
- 6-8 tbsp cold water
For the filling
- onion, diced
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced – small otherwise it will not be cooked enough
- 1 leek, sliced
- 2 smoked bacon rashers diced
- 2 tbsp oil
- 40g margarine
- 40g flour
- 200ml chicken stock
- 150ml milk
- 50ml crème fraiche
- 2 chicken breasts cooked, diced or leftover chicken
- small bunch fresh flatleaf parsley
- 1 tsp dried tarragon
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 large carrots, cut into batons for roasting, oil, seasoning
Method
- Pastry: Put the flour into the bowl. Rub in half the butter. Add water to form a dough. Roll out on a floured surface to a rectangle. Dot with the remaining butter. Fold a third over, then another third over.
- Turn the pastry and roll. Fold again. Turn the pastry and roll out. Fold again, place in the bowl and in the fridge.
- Make the filling: Fry the onion, carrot, leek and bacon in the oil for three minutes.
- Add the butter. Stir in the flour. Take off the heat and gradually add the chicken stock and milk. Place back on the heat and slowly bring to the boil until bubbling and thickened.
- Stir in the crème fraiche, the chicken, herbs and seasoning. Leave to one side.
- Take the pastry from the fridge and roll then fold. Repeat twice more.
- Remove one third for a lid.
- Roll out the larger piece and line a tin. Place in the filling then roll out and seal on the lid. Make a hole in the top. Brush with milk.
- Bake at 180C for 30 to 35 minutes. Place the carrots in a dish and roast at the same time. You could add in other vegetables such as parsnips, swedes or turnips.
Alison's recipes
If you enjoyed this session with Alison, you can explore more of her recipes here!
