Chicken Cuddle

Quick Stats

Easy

4 Servings

30 minutes bake time

Chicken Cuddle

Ingredients

1 x 320 g pack Jus-Rol, Ready rolled puff pastry
1-2 tblsp olive oil
500 g raw chicken breast, cut into chunks
3 medium leeks, trimmed and sliced
1 fat clove garlic, crushed
2 tbsp butter
1 heaped tblsp plain flour
200ml/7fl oz good quality chicken stock
1 Medium free range egg, beaten, to glaze
Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Made With

Chilled Puff Pastry Sheets

Jus-Rol’s ready rolled Puff Pastry Sheet is perfect for tasty dinners and desserts.

Techniques Used

How to Roll Puff Pastry
How to Roll Puff Pastry
1. For best results when rolling out puff pastry use a large, clean dry area of the work surface and lightly dust it with plain flour.
2. Place pastry dough on surface and lightly dust it and the rolling pin with flour.
3. Roll pastry firmly, always rolling away from you, give the dough 2-3 rolls.
4. Then turn the dough a quarter turn.
5. Dust again if necessary and continue rolling out, frequently turning the pastry so it is not always rolled in the same direction as this causes shrinkage.
6. When the pastry has increased in size, pick it up to turn by rolling it round the rolling pin.
7. Lift the pin with the pastry around it carefully and turn it to lay out and continue rolling. Again this is done to prevent the pastry from stretching as you lift it which in turn would result in shrinkage in baking. Puff pastry should be rolled out to approx. 4-5 mm depth.
8. To re- roll puff pastry once you have cut something out from the main piece, layer up all the trimmings, folding to achieve approximately an even stack.
9. Press stack lightly together with fingers.
10. Then roll out as before.

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C/180C (fan)/Gas 6
Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan, add the chicken and cook over a medium/high heat for 8-10 minutes, until starting to colour.
Add the leeks and garlic and continue to cook for 5-7 minutes. Transfer the contents of the pan to a large dish/plate and set aside.
For the sauce, melt the butter in the sauté pan, add the flour and cook over a low heat for 1-2 minutes. Gradually pour in the chicken stock, turn up the heat to bring to the boil, stirring continuously. Reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Mix the chicken and leeks with the sauce and transfer to a 20-22cm pie dish.
Brush the edge of the pie dish with beaten egg, unroll the pastry and with a sharp knife cut strips of pastry (approx 2cm wide) from the edges and use to form a rim on the pie dish. Brush the edge with beaten egg to help the pastry stick.
Carefully lift the remaining pastry, lay over the dish and press down the edges to form a good seal.

Trim off any excess pastry with a sharp knife (reserve the trimmings to decorate) and flute the edges. Make two holes in the centre of the pie to allow the steam to escape.

Cut out leaves or other shapes of your choice, brush the pastry top with egg wash, arrange leaves on top and brush again. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.

Allow to stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Tips

Take the pastry out of the fridge and remove from the packaging approximately 10 minutes before you are ready to use it, as it will be easier to work with.
Instead of using leeks, you could use leftover vegetables from your Sunday roast!
This recipe makes one large pie, but you could make a few individual pies in a large muffin tray.