Chicken, Mushroom & Bacon Pie

Hidden Treasure…

Taking the time to pick all those hidden shreds of flesh which I would usually discard from the chicken carcass made this one of the tastiest dishes ever… J J

Ingredients & Costing…
Shredded Cooked Chicken x 200gm	1.99
Pancetta Lardons x 100gm	0.90
Baby Mushrooms x 100gm sliced	0.70
Spanish Onion x ½ finely diced	0.16
Fat Clove of Garlic x 1 crushed	0.05
Butter x 50gm	0.24
Flour x 50gm	0.10
Milk x 475ml	0.45
Cream x 125ml	1.19
Dried Mixed Herbs x 1 tsp	0.05
Nutmeg x 1 pinch	0.05
Maldon Sea Salt	0.05
Freshly Ground Black Pepper	0.05
Filo Pastry x 4 Sheets	0.43
Parmesan x 15gm finely grated	0.27
Butter x 10gm melted	0.20
Sesame Seeds x 1 tsp	0.10
3-4Hearty Portions	€6.98

It Couldn’t be easier…
æ In a heavy based pan sauté the onion in butter until translucent, add the sliced mushrooms & sauté for a further 10 minutes until excess liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated
æ Add the pancetta lardons & garlic to the pan cooking for a further 5 minutes allowing them to release their flavours, transfer all to an ovenproof casserole dish
æ Meanwhile shred the flesh from the chicken carcass including some crispy pieces of skin & stuffing if there are any left… add these to the casserole dish
æ Melt 50gms of butter in a heavy based saucepan & add the flour mixing well to form a roux, gradually add the milk & cream stirring well to ensure there are no lumps, when all the liquid has been incorporated add the dried herbs & a pinch of nutmeg, seasoning well to taste. Pour the sauce into the casserole dish
æ Separate the sheets of filo pastry & brush generously with melted butter, layer sheets in a crumpled fashion on the chicken & sauce mixture, sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese & sesame seeds. Baked in the centre of a preheated oven (gas mark 5) for 30 minutes until the pastry is golden & the sauce is bubbling

Something Fishy…
Equally delicious as the “Chicken, Mushroom & Bacon Pie” this version was devised to utilise a random selection of ingredients lurking in the fridge. Starting with the salad drawer of the fridge I roast pretty much everything I found there (red/yellow/green pepper, courgette & garlic) in the oven with olive oil, salt & freshly ground black pepper. Next I defrosted two frozen fish fillets (1 smoked haddock & 1 white fish) from the freezer. Making the white sauce as above with the addition of a little grated cheddar cheese I combined all the ingredients in a casserole dish. Then in place of the filo pastry I used some defrosted wanton wrappers…. J