Flying Spatula

Guess which lucky girl started her Sunday with breakfast in bed?  I happen to think that the humble dippy egg represents the pinnacle of bed-borne breakfasts.  Simple, tasty and self-contained, there is limited potential for mess-making although the occasional eggy duvet dribble cannot be ruled out.  And cutting your toast into soldiers means that you are less likely to end up with crumbs in your bed which I can assure you will come back to haunt you at an inopportune moment some time later.  Note the clean cut top of the egg courtesy of one of my favourite (and cheapest) gadgets ever, my little egg-guillotine.

First of all, sourdough update.  After further research on t’interweb, it seems I may have been a little hasty in condemning last week’s jar of brackish water-topped goo to the wheelie bin.  It may just have been hungry!  Apparently the dark liquid forming atop of my pasty pet was a form of alcohol and indicated that it required feeding.  All I needed to do was to get rid of the alcohol and give it some more flour and water.  I am happy to tell you that Sourdough Mk2 is alive and bubbling thanks to my new-found knowledge.  As for the Mk1, how do you describe accidentally killing a tame yeast culture because you thought it was already dead?  Unintentional fungicide..?

Unfortunately the morning that started so promisingly soon became another drab drizzly day.  So I set about creating delicious Chicken, Ham and Mushroom pies for dinner. Starting with a lovely plump chicken breast and a small shallow pan. Make up some chicken stock, and place it and your juicy breast into the pan. Leave it to poach in the barely simmering stock, turning every so often to ensure even cooking. 

Whilst that happens, make your pastry. It is testament to the persistence of my (extremely) long-suffering cookery teacher that I can remember that shortcrust is half fat to flour – thanks Mrs Bayliss! I used 200g plain (AP) flour, 50g Trex and 50g Pure Sunflower spread. Rub the fat into the flour with your fingertips just until it resembles breadcrumbs. TOP TIP – I did this wearing latex gloves thus avoiding spending the rest of the evening picking pastry from under my fingernails. Add cold water a little at a time and mix it in using a table knife – I don’t know why, that’s just the way my Mum used to do it and it seems to work. Add enough water to get it to just come together, and then get in there with your hands (gloved as above) to finish bringing the dough together. Then wrap your pastry in cling film and shove it in the fridge to rest.

When the chicken is cooked, remove it from the pan and leave it to cool. Bubble the stock down so that it reduces by about a third and then pour it into a jug to use later. Using the same pan put in a good knob of butter (Lactofree of course!) and maybe a few pumps of spray oil – for example FryLight – and some chopped button mushrooms. As they start to cook down add a little garlic if you like it and some herbs. It’s January, it’s cold and it’s raining so I resorted to dried tarragon from the herb rack on this occasion. Once your mushrooms start to get a little brown on the edges, remove them from the pan and set aside. DO NOT WASH THE PAN! I really can’t be bothered with unnecessary washing up and we can use the excuse that you are retaining the flavour from the previous step. Well it works for me.

Next step is the sauce for your pie filling. Melt about 25g of butter (see above) and then add around a tablespoon of flour, stirring it over a medium heat to make a roux. Once it has cooked for a couple of minutes, gradually add the stock you saved from poaching the chicken. Keep stirring and heat gently until it thickens. Add your favourite flourishes at this point – my preference is for a couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce and a couple of Tabasco. Remove from the heat, and set aside.
Chop your cooled chicken, along with some thick cut ham and mix these with your mushrooms. Then you need to add your cooled sauce to give you the optimum filling to sauce ratio. Too little and your pie will be dry. Too much and you are in danger of ending up with a soggy bottom. Keep any leftover sauce – you can use it to make some gravy to anoint your pie later. 
 

Roll your pastry out on a floured surface and use it to line 2 individual pie dishes and then re-roll if necessary to make 2 lids for the pies. Now for a TOP TIP (#2!) to help avoid getting a soggy bottom.  If you lightly sprinkle the base of the pastry case with semolina – just a dusting, no need to overdo it – before you pile in your unctuous filling this will help to deal with any excess moisture. Fill up your pies, moisten the edge with water, pop on the lid and crimp it together. Brush with milk and bake in a 180C (Fan) oven for about 25-30 minutes.

Et voila…!

So in my case egg came first and then chicken later…

Until next time….

MC

Ingredients (makes 2 pies using individual oval pie dishes)

• 1 plump chicken breast
• Chicken stock
• 200g Plain (AP) Flour
• 100g fat (I used half Trex, half Pure Sunflower)
• A little cold water to mix
• A thick slice of ham
• A pack of baby button mushrooms
• A knob of Lactofree butter
• A little lazy garlic
• Herbs (I used dried tarragon)
• 25g Lactofree butter
• 1 Tablespoon Plain (AP) Flour
• Few dashes of Worcestershire Sauce and Chipotle Tabasco
• 1 Teaspoon Semolina
• Milk to glaze