Chicken Leek and Mushroom Pie

This is my take on a classic chicken and leak pie – A comforting and super simple dish to make during the winter months! The addition of the sweet potatoes makes this dish a much healthier version with lots of dietary fibre, vitamin A and vitamin C.

This scrumptious pie is guaranteed to be a family favourite. Give it a go and let me know how you get on!

Ingredients- 

Serves 2

• 400 grams chicken thighs
• Olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large leek, cleaned & chopped
• 150 grams brown mushrooms (I used portobellini)
• 1 lemon, zest and juice of half of it
• 2 tablespoons buckwheat flour (any wholegrain flour will do)
• 50ml water, stock or milk
• 3 tablespoons crème fraiche
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 600 grams sweet potato, peeled
• Chicken Stock for the potato mash
• Salt and pepper

Method –

• Firstly preheat the oven to 180 degrees
• Peel and chop the sweet potatoes, place on an oven tray and dry roast for 30 minutes or until roasted. If you prefer to steam your potatoes for your mash, then you can do that too however I wouldn’t recommend boiling them.
• Remove the skin from the chicken thighs and cut into 2cm chunks, place them in a non-stick pan to brown along with the prepared chopped leek and salt. Cook the chicken and leek for 5 minutes or until the leeks have softened. Don’t allow the leeks to brown as they will become bitter.
• Next place the minced garlic, chopped mushrooms, lemon, juice & zest into the pan and cook for a couple of minutes.
• Add the buckwheat flour and stir constantly for 2 minutes, this will allow the mixture to thicken up and give it a creamy texture.
• Add the 50ml of liquid of your choice, along with the crème fraiche and mustard. Stir through and take off the heat.
• Spoon the tasty, thick mixture into an oven baked dish and spread evenly.
• Next remove your sweet potato from the oven and place in a bowl ready to mash. I like to add a bit of chicken stock to help loosen up the potatoes for the mash however you can use water or even butter. Mash the sweet potato with some salt and pepper until you have a smooth consistency.
• Place the sweet potato mash on-top of the chicken and leek mixture.
• Bake for a further 10 minutes in the preheated oven to ensure the chicken is cooked through.
• I then like to place my pie under the grill for 5 minutes to give it a crispy, crunchy topping!

Happy eating!