Tonight’s Menu was thrown together a little last-minute so Charlie took the reins and decided to attempt another of Jamie Oliver’s 30 Minute Meals.
The Summer weather has been pretty up and down so far, so we figured it was still cool enough for a hearty pie for dinner, plus we had some strawberries left over from the weekend that needed to be used for something - so the meal on this page was quickly selected!
Guest: Katie
Recipe from:Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals. Page 92.
INGREDIENTS:
CHICKEN PIE
- 4 x 180g skinless chicken breasts
- a knob of butter
- a bunch of spring onions
- 150g button mushrooms
- 1 heaped tablespoon plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 2 teaspoons English mustard
- 1 heaped tablespooncrème fraîche
- 300ml organic chicken stock
- a few sprigs of fresh thyme
- ⅓ of a nutmeg, for grating
- 1 sheet of pre-rolled puff pastry
- 1 egg
SMASH
- 600g carrots
- a few sprigs of fresh thyme
PEAS
- 2 little gem lettuces [baby cos lettuce]
- a knob of butter
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 300ml organic chicken stock
- a few sprigs of fresh mint
- 480g frozen peas
- ½ a lemon
SEASONINGS
See AlsoHow to eat game responsibly | Features | Jamie OliverJamie Oliver’s Chicken in Milk Is Probably the Best Chicken Recipe of All TimeJamie at Home: Crispy and Sticky Chicken Thighs with Squashed New Potatoes and TomatoesBaked Sweet and Sour Chicken - Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken
- olive oil
- extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt & black pepper
BERRIES & CREAM
- 400g mixed berries, such as blueberries, raspberries or strawberries
- elderflower cordial
- ½ a lemon
- 2 sprigs of fresh mint
- a few shortbread biscuits, to serve
- 150ml double cream
- 1 heaped tablespoon icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla paste or extract
Charlie opted to leave out the chantilly cream for the dessert but we ended up adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream instead!
METHOD:
TO START
Get all your ingredients and equipment ready. Turn the oven on to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6. Fill and boil the kettle. Put a large wide pan on a medium heat and a large saucepan with a lid on a low heat. Put the thick slicer disc attachment into the food processor.
CHICKEN PIE
Put the chicken breasts on a plastic board and slice into 1cm strips. Put a lug of olive oil and a knob of butter into the hot, large, wide pan. Add the chicken and cook for 3 minutes or so. Meanwhile, quickly trim the spring onions and wash the mushrooms, then slice together in the food processor. Add to the pan with 1 heaped tablespoon of flour and stir. Add 2 teaspoons of mustard, 1 heaped tablespoon of crème fraîche and 300ml of chicken stock and stir well. Pick the thyme leaves and stir into the pan with a few fine gratings of nutmeg and a good pinch of salt & pepper. Leave to simmer.
SMASH
Trim the carrots, then quickly slice in the food processor. Add to the saucepan with a lug of extra virgin olive oil, a good pinch of salt & pepper and a few and a few thyme tips. Just cover with boiled water, then cover with a lid and turn the heat to high. Cook for 15 minutes, or until tender
See AlsoSweet and Sour ChickenCHICKEN PIE
Lightly dust a clean surface with flour and unroll the sheet of puff pastry. Use a small knife to lightly crisscross and score it. Take the pan of chiken off the heat. Tip the filling into an ovenproof baking dish slightly smaller than the sheet of pastry (approx. 30 x 25cm). Cover the filling with the pastry sheet, tucking it in at the edges. Quickly beat the egg, then brush it over the top of the pie. Put into the oven and cook on the top shelf for around 15 minutes, or until golden and gorgeous. Fill and reboil the kettle.
PEAS
Return the empty chicken pan to a high heat. Quickly wash the lettuces and then slice them in the food processor. Add a knob of butter and 1 tablespoon of flour to the pan, then pour in 300ml of chicken stock, tear in the mint leaves and use a balloon whisk to mix to a smooth and bubbling sauce. Add the peas and sliced lettuce. Squeeze over the juice of½ a lemon, pour in a splash of boiled water, season with salt & pepper, stir, then put the lid on.
BERRIES & CREAM
Slice any large strawberries, if using, then put all the fruit into a large serving dish. Add a little swig of elderflower cordial and squeeze over the juice of½ a lemon. Mix to coat all the fruit, then pick the mint leaves and tear over. Take to the table with the biscuits. Using an electric whisk, mix the double crew with the icing sugar and vanilla paste or extract until thick. Put next to the berries on the table.
SMASH
Check the carrots are cooked through, then drain and return to the pan. Taste, correct the seasoning and leave as they are or smash up. Take to the table.
TO SERVE
Take the peas to the table, then get the pie out of the oven and tuck in!
Once again, we didn’t have all of the ‘essential’ kitchen equipment to prepare this dish in 30 minutes, but Charlie got pretty close.
Not including the time he spent chopping up the ingredients and leaving the dessert to do later, it took him about 40 minutes to get this meal on the table. Quite an achievement for a Monday Menu!
This was quite a simple, homely 'meat and three veg’ kind of dish, but despite sounding so plain, it was very tasty.
The pie was delicious. Very juicy and flavoursome. The French-style peas were also surprisingly tasty, the lettuce added a nice element of crunch and they went well with the extra juices from the pie. The carrots were tasty but a little bit boring. Perhaps it would be good to jazz them up with a drizzle of honey or some more herbs or something to give them another dimension.
Considering how quick and easy this pie was to prepare and the fact that it uses pretty simple, easy to find ingredients, we will definitely be making it again. Next time I might just serve it with a salad.
The dessert was prepared in no time and was lovely and fresh. The elderflower cordial complimented the berries perfectly and the shortbreads soaked up the juices to make a tasty, crunchy morsel to finish off the meal. We devoured it so quickly that I forgot to get a photo until it was too late! Cream would make it a bit more decadent but I enjoyed the vanilla ice-cream addition. I will remember this next time I want to throw together a dessert last minute.
Posted 11 years ago
Comments
pie, chicken, strawberries, elderflower, shortbread, carrots, peas,
