6 oz Shortcrust pastry 1 x Salt and pepper
1 x Chicken, about 4 lb* 1 pn Ground mace or nutmeg
4 x Slices ham steak 300 ml Chicken stock
4 x Large leeks, cleaned/chopped 125 ml Double cream
1 x Med. onion
*Jointed, chopped and boned. . Make the pastry and leave it in a cold
place to rest. Meanwhile prepare the pie. IN a deep 1 – 1 1/2 quart
dish, place layers of the chicken, the ham, leeks and onion or
shallot, adding the mace, nutmeg and seasoning, then repeating the
layers until the dish is full. Add the stock, then dampen the edges
of the dish before rolling out the pastry to the required size. Place
the pastry over the pie and press the edges down well. Crimp them
with a fork. Make a small hole in the center. Roll out the scraps of
pastry and form a leaf or rosette for the top. Place this very
lightly over the small hole. Brush the pastry with milk, and bake at
moderate heat, 350F, for 25-30 minutes. Cover the pastry with damp
greaseproof paper when partially cooked if the top seems to be
getting too brown. Gently heat the cream. When pie is cooked, remove
from oven. Carefully lift off the rosette and pour the cream in
through the hole. Put back the rosette and serve. (This pie forms a
delicious soft jelly when cold.)
Yields
4 servings