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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
The GH Kitchen Team are Good Housekeeping’s resident recipe developers and all-round food obsessives. GH Kitchen Director Sarah Akhurst is our resident hosting pro and loves nothing more than putting on a foodie feast for friends. Our GH Kitchen Manager Linzi Pucino is our very own Italian food expert (originally hailing from the North East of Scotland!) and can be found working her way through midweek recipes that cover all bases, from haggis to ragu! Our Kitchen Editor Nadine Brown loves digging into the stories behind her favourite foods and enjoys applying her eclectic tastes to more modern, flavour-forward recipes - just don't give her too much chilli! Our Junior Food Content Produce Frankie Prichard combines a love of beautiful presentation and flavour-led, seasonal cooking in her recipe development, along with a passion for bringing people together through food. With a wealth of professional kitchen experience between them, they’re dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work every single time
