Chicken, Leek And Sage Spelt Pie
Cook Time 1.5 hours
Servings 6-12
Ingredients
Pastry
2 ½ cups (300g) white spelt flour
125g cold butter, cut in cubes
pinch sea salt
100ml chilled water
1 egg, for glazing
Filling
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 leeks, halved, cleaned and finely diced
1kg chicken thigh fillets, trimmed and roughly diced
½ cup (125ml) white wine
½ cup (75g) unbleached plain flour
2 cups (500ml) chicken stock, warmed
1 bunch of sage, leaves finely chopped (keep 12 leaves for decorating pie tops)
Salt and white pepper, to taste
Method
To make the pastry, combine the flour, butter and salt in a food processor and process in short bursts until crumbly (alternatively combine in a bowl and use your fingertips to rub together). Add almost all the water and process in a few short bursts until evenly moistened. Add remaining water only if required.
Gather the dough together into a ball, wrap in cling film and refrigerate while you make the filling.
To make the filling, warm the olive oil in a large saute pan. Gently saute the onion and leeks on a medium heat for 3 minutes until softened. Increase the heat to high, add the chicken pieces, and cook for 5-7 minutes until sealed all over. Deglaze with the white wine and cook for 2 minutes, then reduce to a medium heat, add the flour and cook for a further minute, stirring continuously.
Add the warm stock a little at a time, stirring after each addition until smooth, until all the stock has been added and a smooth thick sauce has formed. Stir in the sage, season with salt and pepper and cook a further 10 minutes on a low heat, stirring occasionally.
Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan forced) and grease the top rim of 6 x 1 cup (250ml) capacity pie dishes.
Fill each dish with an even amount of chicken filling (about 1 cup filling per pie). Allow to cool. Meanwhile, divide the dough into six even pieces. Using a rolling pin, roll each piece of dough out to about 3mm thick and to the size of your pie dish.
Top each pie with a pastry lid and press down around the edges with a fork to seal. Prick the centre a couple of times to allow the steam to escape. Brush the pastry tops with lightly beaten egg then place fresh sage leaves in the middle. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until pastry is golden. Allow to cool slightly before serving.