'Chicken' and Leek Pie

With all the time a lot of us have recently found ourselves with, (I work in clothing retail and am on furlough for the foreseeable future) I have been challenging myself to make something different for dinner each night and to cook outside of my comfort zone. I would normal use jackfruit cooked until soft in a little stock as a chicken substitute but I haven't been able to get hold of any for a few weeks so tried Tesco's faux chicken bits in this instead. I didn't mind the taste but I prefer to eat as little heavily processed food as possible. While I know these pies aren't going to give the wonderful Vegan Skinhead a run for their money, I was really pleased with the overall outcome. This should make 2 individual pies.

Ingredients:

For the pastry:
225g plain flour
100g dairy-free butter
4 - 6 tbsp water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp mixed herbs
soy milk to brush with

For the filling:
20g dairy-free butter plus a little extra for frying
20g plain flour
200ml soy milk
1 large leek
3 cloves garlic
1 pack faux chicken pieces
1 tsp grainy mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

First make the pastry as this needs to chill in the fridge for at least half an hour giving us time to prep everything else. In a large bowl, rub together the flour, butter, salt, pepper and mixed herbs until the mix resembles bread crumbs. Add the water slowly until the dough just comes together and holds, you may not need all of the water. Place onto some cling film and wrap well before placing in the fridge.

Mince the garlic and finely slice the leek, saute over a low heat in knob of dairy-free butter until soft then add the faux chicken to heat through and gain a little colour.

• In a separate pan, melt 20g of butter then add the flour and whisk together to create a paste and cook for around 30 seconds until golden brown. Slowly add the milk bit by bit, whisking constantly until all of the milk is incorporated. Keep whisking over a medium heat until the mixture is thick enough to well coat the back of ha spoon. Take off the heat and add in the leeks and faux chicken mixture along with the mustard and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper then set to one side to cool.

Preheat your oven to 180c and place a flat baking sheet in it to heat up.

By this time, the pastry should have had enough time resting in the fridge. Turn out onto a well floured surface and roll out into a large square around 3 mm in thickness. Take your pie tins and place them upside down on the pastry. Cut precisely around them to create the lids and about a 1cm outside the tins to create the bases. Lay the base carefully over each tin then drape it in until it fills the corners and bottom. Fill the cases with as much mixture as you can, a little dome is fine then place the lid over the top. Press the top and bottom together gently with your thumb then trim off any excess with a sharp knife. Press the edges with a fork to completely seal and to create a nice pattern.

Take any offcuts of pastry and roll out again before cutting into rough squares and placing on a baking sheet. These make great crackers and can be stored for a few days in an airtight container - a trick I learnt from Nadiya Hussain of Great British Bake-Off fame.

Place on the preheated baking tray and bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and hot through. The baking tray helps to give an even bake and prevent the dreaded soggy bottoms.

I served these with buttery mashed potatoes, steamed cabbage and onion gravy.

If you make these, please take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Big love
The Defective Housewife

PS. For those of you who follow my blog but aren't vegan/veggie, I did make these with chicken and dairy for my other half and they turned out exactly the same - just make sure to precook your chicken.