Maggie Beer inspired Chicken pot pie

For me,a pot pie is the ultimate comfort food.What's so comforting about a humble little pie?Is it the flaky,buttery pastry or the rich,creamy filling or the wonderfully melt-in-your-mouth combination of the two?Or could it be all that butter??The big slab of butter that you throw into a pie?

Yes,of course a pie has butter...a good lot of butter.A friend had once asked me if she could make a pie without butter and without refined flour.I suggested that she better not make a pie at all and have porridge instead.Because a pie is a pie is a pie!It is awfully unhealthy and totally tasty.It is an absolute no-no for size zero aspirants,fitness freaks and other poor souls on diet.But there is nothing like a warm pot pie for a tired,exhausted momma like me who does not mind a few extra pounds being added to her already jiggling belly!
This pie recipe is however not my favourite though it is a really,really good one.My favourite pie is my Amma's pot pie which I grew up eating.I guess you'll have to wait for a while for that recipe.But for now,here is one inspired by Maggie Beer's pheasant pie which was featured on one of the episodes of Masterchef Australia.I've adapted her extremely forgiving sour cream pastry recipe which is too good for words.And I've used chicken and mushrooms in a rich, creamy sauce for the filling.How comforting is that?

CHICKEN POT PIE

For the sour cream pastry(adapted from Maggie Beer's pheasant pie recipe)

200g Unsalted butter, chilled
250g Plain flour
125ml Sour Cream

Method:
Pulse the butter and flour in a food processor until it looks like breadcrumbs.
Add the sour cream and continue to pulse until the dough starts to incorporate into a ball.
Wrap in plastic film and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Roll the pastry to desired thickness and cut 2 circles, 1 bigger for the base of your pie dish and 1 smaller for the lid.
Keep refrigerated while you make the filling.

For the filling

3 boneless chicken breasts(cut into small cubes)
1 packet button mushrooms(halved)
1 onion (cut into fairly big cubes)
1/4 cup plain flour
1-2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup fresh cream
Good sprinkle of parsley
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Method:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Rub chicken pieces with salt,pepper and olive oil.Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until almost cooked.
Heat olive oil in a pan and saute onions until just translucent.
Add mushrooms and saute till mushrooms reduce to half the size and all the water evaporates.
Add flour and cook for a while.(It should not turn brown)
Add stock and stir to remove lumps.
Add cooked chicken cubes and fresh cream and cook till thick.The sauce should be creamy but not clumpy.Add more stock if needed.
Season with parsley,salt and pepper.
Keep aside till it cools.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Carefully transfer the bigger circle of the pastry to the base of the pie dish and gently press down and the sides,making sure there is a little extra pastry around the sides.
Spoon the filling into the base.
Cover with the smaller circle of the pastry and crimp the edges to seal.
Score a cross pattern on top of the pie.
Give the top an egg wash.
Bake at 180 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour,till the crust is nice and brown.

Chicken stroganoff

On Valentine's day I made this for my darling hubby...My charming,sensible and totally adorable six-pack hubby!
Did I hear someone chuckle at the last adjective??
Six packs,I tell you....
Six packs combined into one whole pack and wrapped up somewhere round the belly...He says its easier to maintain it that way!

The Stroganoff is one of my all time favorites.It is the first thing I hunt for in a menu card at any continental restaurant.And over the years, he has grown to like it too.Yess!I've managed to transform my 'kappa, meen curry' loving husband to a 'Stroganoff' loving guy.It wasn't easy at all...Eight long years of hard work and patience; that's what it took!;p And though he annoys me at times by behaving like one of the masterchef judges,I must admit that he's a perfect guinea pig and my most honest critic.
Okay,jokes apart,let me tell you that he's the bestEST thing that has ever happened to me.I'm having the 'time of my life' being his wife and wouldn't trade it for anything else in the whole,wide world!!
And now over to the dish...Stroganoff or Stroganov is a Russian dish of sautéed pieces of beef served in a sauce with smetana or sour cream. From its origins in 19th-century Russia, it has become popular around the world, with considerable variation from the original recipe.Various explanations are given for the name, presumably derived from some member of the large and important Stroganov family, perhaps Alexander Grigorievich Stroganoff of Odessa or a diplomat, Count Pavel Stroganov....
And perhaps you're wondering...'Whats wrong with this woman?Now she's giving history lessons...' Sorry,but this was a bit of information I got when I googled for the right spelling of 'Stroganoff'.Those of you who would like more of history can read it here.Others,come with me...

Though Stroganoff originally is a beef dish,I chose to do a chicken version for the sheer love of chicken.I followed the recipe posted by a member at the Jamie Oliver website with a few,minor changes here and there.And the result was a lovely,classy Stroganoff with succulent pieces of chicken and mushrooms drenched in a creamy sour cream and white wine sauce accompanied with some buttered herb rice...mmmm...heaven!!
Here's wishing all my lovely readers a belated 'Happy valentine's day'.And to you Stroganoff Jem,I can't help falling in love with you a bit more everyday!

CHICKEN STROGANOFF

2 or 3 chicken breasts, cut into strips
1/4 cup flour
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsb butter
2 shallots, finely sliced
1/2 packet button mushrooms, quartered
1/4 cup white wine
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp paprika
1-2 tsp dried parsley flakes
2 cups basmati rice
handful of parsley, finely chopped
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Cook the rice and toss with parsley and a blob of butter.
Dust the chicken pieces with flour.
Heat the olive oil and butter in a frying pan.
Add the chicken and fry until just cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add the shallots to the pan, adding more olive oil or butter if needed, and cook until softened.
Add the mushrooms and cook further on high until all the water has evaporated.
Add 2 tsp paprika and cook for a while until a warm,earthy aroma rises.
Pour the white wine and stir,scraping out the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.Then simmer until the wine reduces a bit.
Pour in the chicken stock and turn the heat up to high. Reduce the stock by half and then turn the heat down to a simmer.
Add the chicken to the pan, along with the sour cream and stir through. Season with salt and pepper.Sprinkle dried parsley flakes and simmer until the sauce has thickened and is creamy.
Serve, accompanied by the rice and sprinkle some paprika over the Stroganoff on each plate.

NOTE:If sour cream is unavailable to you,fresh cream would be a good substitute.
If you feel your chicken breasts are tough,it is a good idea to give it a gentle steam before cutting it to strips,so that you will not have to fry it for too long.