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Total Time:
2 hrs 10 mins
- 1 Tbsp.
vegetable oil
- 1
large whole chicken, about 1.8kg, jointed into pieces
- 200 g
smoked bacon lardons
- 3
carrots, halved lengthways and cut into 2.5cm pieces
- 2
celery sticks, roughly chopped
- 2
leeks, washed and cut into 2.5cm rounds
- 150 ml
white wine
- 2
bay leaves
- 2
thyme sprigs
- 75 g
butter
- 75 g
plain flour
- 100 ml
double cream
- 50 g
stoned prunes, finely chopped
- 320 g
sheet ready-rolled puff pastry
- Step 1
Heat oil in a large pan, heavy-based pan, and fry chicken pieces (in batches if necessary) until richly golden all over. Lift into a bowl. To the pan, add the bacon, carrots, celery and leeks and fry for 5min, then add the wine and bubble for a few minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
- Step 2
Return chicken pieces to the pan and add the bay leaves and thyme. Cover chicken with cold water. Bring up to the boil, then turn down heat and simmer for 45min.
- Step 3
Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan) mark 6. Use a slotted spoon to lift out the vegetables and lardons into a 2.8 litre (5pint) pie dish. Making sure to catch the cooking liquid in a large jug or bowl, strain the remaining contents of pan into a colander. Discard cooking herbs. Set chicken aside until cool enough to handle.
- Step 4
Meanwhile, to the empty cooking pan melt the butter. Stir in flour and cook for 1min. Gradually whisk in 600ml (1 pint) of the cooking liquid to make a smooth sauce. Bring to boil, whisking, until thickened. Add cream and bubble for a couple of minutes. Season to taste.
- Step 5
Peel skin off chicken pieces and shred meat. Add meat to the pie dish, then mix in the sauce and prunes.
- Step 6
Cover pie dish with pastry and press edges against pie dish to stick. Cut through the pastry to divide into 6 rectangles. Brush with beaten egg and cook in oven for 35min until bubbling and golden. Serve.
Freeze ahead
Prepare to end of step 6, but don’t brush with egg. Cool, wrap well and freeze for up to 1 month. To serve, defrost in fridge, brush with egg and complete recipe, allowing extra time in the oven if needed.
Per Serving:
- Calories: 759
- Fibre: 5 g
- Total carbs: 33 g
- Sugars: 8 g
- Total fat: 47 g
- Saturated fat: 24 g
- Protein: 45 g
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
