There are many versions of chicken pie and almost every cook in this world would tell you that they have their own version of this very simple yet comforting food.
I made these!!!
My family loves chicken pie and one of the best chicken pie that I have ever made is the one that uses caramelized onion/shallots in its crust. I saw this recipe in Elin's blog (another great cook)
in December last year. Had it earmarked but only managed to try it out last weekend. I must agree with Elin this one is definitely a winner. The sweet aroma of the caramelized onion is a notch up from the normal classic chicken pie.
Here is the recipe:
Chicken Pie with Caramelized Onion Crust (adpted from Elin's)
Ingredients:
Chicken & Mushroom Filling :
1 large chicken breast - diced
1/2 tsp corn flour
1/2 tsp oyster sauce
12 pcs fresh swiss brown mushroom -sliced thick
6 baby corn - diced
1 large carrot - diced
2 large onion - diced
2 sprig italian parley - chopped
2 pips garlic - chopped
1 tin of Campbell cream of mushroom soup mixed with 1/2 cup water
1 tsp black pepper - crushed finely
2 tbsp olive oil
4 hard boiled eggs - quartered
Method :
- Marinate the chicken with oyster sauce and corn flour for 10 mins.
- Mix well the Campbell soup and 1/2 cup water and leave aside.
- In a frying pan, heat up some olive oil.
- Add garlic and onion.
- Saute for 2 mins under low heat till aromatic and soft.
- Add in chicken and the rest of the diced veggies. Stir fry till soft.
- Pour in the Campbell soup and stir till well incorporated with the veggies and the mixture is a thick consistency.
- Add in parsley and turn off the heat.
- Let the fillings cool down to room temperature then chill in the fridge for at least 30 mins before using.
- This filling can be prepared a day in advance.
Crust
Ingredients
2 shallots - thinly sliced
3 cups plain flour
1.5 tbsp sugar
2/3 cup iced water
180 gm butter
Method:
- Slice shallots as thinly as possible and toss with a large pinch of salt. Salt helps to break down the cell wall and speed up the carameliazatio.
- Add 2 tsp olive oil to a pan over medium heat and fry the onions till very soft and light beige all the way through.
- Allow them to cool to room temperature then put them into the freezer.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degree F.
- In a bowl, mix the flour and sugar together.
- Cut the frozen butter into small cubes.
- Rub the butter lightly into the flour mixture until it resembles bread crumbs.
- Add in 1/4 cup ice water and mix the mixture into a dough. Do not over work the dough.
- Divide the dough into 2 portion, for them into balls and wrap with cling wrap.
- Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Lightly flour the work surface and roll out a ball of dough to 1/8" thick.
- Fold the top edge to the center then fold the bottom edge to the center.
- Fold the rounded bits to the left and right over to make an envelope shaped rectang;e.
- Flip the dough and roll this out trying to keep the rectangle shape of about 12 " x 8".
- Cut this into six 4" squares.
- Return them to the fridge and repeat the same with the other ball of dough.
- When you have 12 square pieces, gently press each piece into a muffin tin and fill with the filling.
- Fold the 4 edges of the dough together to close off the top of each pie.
- Brush the tops with egg yolk and cream wash then put them in the oven.
- Bake for 15 - 20 mins or till the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden brown.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool.
- Serve warm with salad.
