Chicken Pie has been on Claridge's menu forever, but it hasn't always been in fashion. One of their predeccessors tried to retire it to make room for something more 'current' and was told by the powers that be, it was him or the pie. The truth is this pie is perfect and so was included in their new book. A couple of years ago Claridge's was visited by Alf Parrot, an old friend who worked in the kitchen in the 1930's. He told them how Claridge's had saved his life: when the war came, he was sent to work in the officers' mess hall rather than to the front line. He described how he remembered making the Chicken Pie: the creamy supreme sauce, the mushrooms, the smoked bacon, quail eggs and mash on the side. They promptly made one for Alf and the joy on his face was a sight to behold. It was exactly as he remembered. This is a dish that links generations, not only in the kitchen but in the dining room as well.
Makes 4 individual pies
You will need:
4 ovenproof dishes (or 1 large ovenproof casserole dish)
2cm (3/4 inch) plain pastry cutter
5cm (2 inch) fluted pastry cutter
Sheets of baking paper and a tray
Fine mesh sieve
Baking sheet
For the pie filling and assembly:
120g (4 1/2 oz) pearl onions
Plain flour, for dusting
1-1.2kg cold puff pastry
2 egg yolks beaten, for egg wash
600g (1lb 5oz) Chicken breast cut into 2 inch cubes, seasoned with sea salt and ground black pepper.
2 tbsp vegetable oil
120g (4 1/4 oz) streaky bacon, cut into lardons
100g (3 1/2 oz) small button mushrooms
10g (1/4 oz) flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
4 quail eggs (3 minutes in boiling water) shelled
For the Supreme sauce:
2 tbsp vegetable oil
400g boneless, skinless chicken thighs cubed
100g shallots, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and left whole
100g button mushrooms, sliced
300ml dry white wine
1 bay leaf
1 rosemary sprig
3 thyme sprigs
650ml Double chicken stock
500ml double cream
25g unsalted butter
25g plain flour
Sea salt and black pepper
Method:
Cook the pearl onions in their skins in amedium saucepan of salted boiling water for 5-7 minutes. Rinse under cold running water to cool, then peel and set aside.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the puff pastry to a rectangle, about 30 x 60 cm and 2mm thick. Starting at the top, use a sharp knife to cut out 4 oval lids of 14 x 20cm. Alternatively, cut out 4 lids of the shape of your chosen vessel as needed- you can place one of the dishes directly on to the pastry to use as a guide, making sure you add 2cm all around for overhang. Use the 2cm pastry cutter to cut out a 'steam chimney' in the centre of each lid. Next, from the bottom of the rectanlge cut away 4 full-length strips of pastry, each about 2cm wide- these will form the edges along the rim of each dish to support the pastry lid. Finally, use the larger pastry cutter to cut out 4 rounds of pastry in what is left of the puff pastry rectangle, then cut out a 2cm hole in the centre of each- these are the decorative rings for each chimney. Now brush a little eggwash around the edge of each of the chimneys and lay 1 decorative ring on top of each chimney, pressing gently to encourage the seal. Stack the 4 lids and the long strips on top of each other, seperated by sheets of baking paper, transfer to a tray and refrigerate until assembly time. Discard any leftover pastry.
To make the supreme sauce, heat the oil in a medium frying pan or wide saucepan over a medium heat, add the chickne thighs and lightly cook on all sides for about 4 minutes, until lightly browned. Add the shallots, with the garlic and mushrooms and cook until soft and the onions are translucent, for about 5 minutes. Add the white wine, bay leaf, rosemary and thyme and reduce the liquid by half, still over a medium heat, about 6-8 minutes. Add the stock and continue to cook for 15 minutes. Stir and skim occasionally, removing any sediment. Pass through the sieve into a saucepan, add the cream and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Simmer to reduce until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small pan, melt the butter pver a medium heat until frothy, then stir in the flour until you have a smooth paste and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously over a low heat. Remove from the heat. When the cream sauce has reduced sufficiently, whisk a little of the cream sauce into the flour mixture until smooth, then return this to the supreme sauce, stirring to incorporate- you shoud have about 1 litre of sauce (don't worry if you are a little short- just adjustn with additional stock or cream as desired). Season to taste, then cover and set aside.
Now you're ready to work on the remainder of the pie components. In a large frying pan, sear the diced chicken breast in the vegetable oil over a medium-heat until it colours slightly, then transfer to the saucepan with the cupreme sauce, reserving the frying pan for the bacon and mushrooms. Bring the sauce to the boil, then simmer over a medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
While the chicken is cookng in the sauce, saute the bacon lardons in the reserved frying pan until crispy. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a bowl and set aside. Now, still in the same pan, saute the mushrooms until golden brown, adding a splash more vegetable oil to the pan if needed. Set aside in another bowl.
Using a slotted spoon, portion the pieces of chicken equally into the pie dishes. Then divide the pearl onions, mushrooms, bacon and parsley equally between them. Add one-quarter of the supreme auce to each dish. The filling should fill each vessel about two-thirds full. Finally, carefully add 1 quail egg to each. Refrigerate for 2 hours or longer, until completed cool. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees, gas mark 7.
Brush the rim of each dish with eggwash. Lay a strip of puff pastry all along the edge of each dish, pressing down gently in the centre of the strip to help it adhere to the rim, overlapping the 2 ends and eggwashing them together to form a seal. Next, eggwash the whole strip and carefully drape the puff pastry lids atop each vessel for a 2cm overhang. Press down gently to form a seal between the rims and the lids. Brush each lid with eggwash. Place the pies on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes until deep golden brown. Leave to cool for 3 minutes before serving with your favourite mashed potato, green beans and a bottle worthy of your labour.
This delicious recipe can be found at Claridge's and made by Martyn Nail. Martyn Nail was first inspired to cook by his grandmother and was baking his own cakes by the age of eight. He started at Claridge’s in 1986 as Third Commis Chef and rose through the ranks to become the hotel’s highly respected Executive Chef in 2004, awarded along the way industry tributes from The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts to the Hotel Cateys. Under Martyn’s direction, Claridge’s has established itself as one of London’s landmark culinary destinations, hosting some of the most prestigious events in the capital and spearheading one of the most talked about gastronomic pop ups A Taste of Noma at Claridge’s in 2012. Martyn has led the way to make the Claridge’s Foyer and Reading Room one of London’s most happening venues for lunch and dinner.
