Chicken Pesto Pie

This is the recipe I used for the little pies I made for Natalie's 21st party in 2012.

It comes from the little 'Variety' charity cookbook and was submitted for the cause by the 'New Gallery' cafe and bar in Khartoum Place in Auckland.

600g chicken thighs, skinned, boned and diced

1 small onion, chopped

1 bay leaf

50g butter

½ cup basil and pinenut pesto

6 tablespoons flour

½ cup cream

400g crusty pie pastry*

¼ cup each roughly chopped fresh basil and toasted pinenuts (I used cashews for the party)

Pre-heat oven to 200ºC on fan bake if possible.

Mix first three ingredients together and cover with salted water. Simmer until just cooked. Strain stck and reserve.

Melt the butter, add the pesto and cook gently for one minute. Add ½ cup of the reserved stock and gradually add cream, stirring until well incorporated. Add the cooked chicken.

#Line a 23 cm pie dish with crusty pie pastry. Fill with chicken mixture, top with fresh basil and toasted nuts.

Cover pie with pastry lid. Bake for 30 minutes until golden. Serves 6 -8.#

I changed that last bit and replaced with: #Using a cornish pasty pie press or individual pie-dishes, line, fill, and cover separate serving pies. Make holes in the top and paint with milk. Cook for 10 -15 minutes until golden. Serves about 9.#

* You'll need more pastry if you make individual pies of course.

Poulet au Vinaigre.

Serves 4-6

When we went on our big trip when you were young, and we stayed in that converted barn in Champ de Lux, there was a French cooking recipe book there. That’s where I got this recipe from, and that night that you remember trying your first Burgundy wine, I made it. Perhaps it was to make up for our first meal, which was ‘Stone Soup’! Of course we’ve made ‘Poulet’ in many countries and for many special occasions since. But it always takes me back to that week in France, the day we went to the Cirque de Baume, and the time you’ll always remember that I forgot which way the door opened, and got stuck briefly in that telephone box. I usually double the sauce part because it’s so delicious people always seem to want more with their rice. And I usually use thighs or legs, rather than jointing a whole chicken.

Ingredients:

 2 ripe medium-sized tomatoes

 150 ml dry white wine

 1 chicken cut into 8 serving pieces

 salt and freshly-ground pepper

 2 pinches salt

 1 Tbsp vegetable oil

 6 Tbsp tarragon vinegar

 1 oz (25 gm) butter

 6 cloves peeled garlic

 150 ml heavy (double) cream or creme fraiche

 1 tsp strong mustard

Method:

1. Peel, de-seed and chop tomatoes.
2. Seasin chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a non-stick saute pan and add butter. As soon as it is melted. add chicken pieces and garlic cloves, and cook until golden brown (10 minutes approx).
3. Pour in vinegar and let it evaporate. Stir in wine and tomatoes and season with salt, pepper and sugar. Cook 45 minutes, stirring from time to time.
4. While chicken is cooking, combine cream and mustard in a small bowl.
5. Remove cooked chicken from the pan and keep warm. Strain the cooking juices through a fine sieve into a saucepan, crushing the garlic to a paste. Boil over a high heat until syrupy (about 5 minutes). Add the mustard mixture and boil over a high heat 2 minutes to produce a thick, creamy sauce. Pour over chicken and serve immediately.

I usually serve this with a big bowl of jasmine rice and a tossed green salad.

Granny Phyl's Sweet and Sour Meatballs

There was a time when Granny was making this all the time. It was referred to, if I recall, as ‘The Sweet and Sour Meatball Era’. When we visited, we could be fairly sure of this being on the menu. This is another one that you guys have made more often than me. Here it is, directly from Granny’s own handwriting, with James’s adding the method.

Ingredients:

Granny Phyl’s Sweet and Sour Meatballs.

There was a time when Granny was making this all the time. It was referred to, if I recall, as ‘The Sweet and Sour Meatball Era’. When we visited, we could be fairly sure of this being on the menu. This is another one that you guys have made more often than me. Here it is, directly from Granny’s own handwriting, with James’s adding the method.

Ingredients:

o Beef or pork mince

o 25 ozs lean mince (that’s about 600 g)

o 100 g sausage meat

o 1 c of fresh brown breadcrumbs (or cut up slices)

o 1 egg

o 2 tsp salt (James says ‘or 1’)

o spring onions finely chopped (or 1 small onion)

o 1/2 tsp five-spice powder

o pinch chili powder

o 1 Tbsp soya sauce

o 3 cloves garlic, finely cut

o juice of 1 lemon (James says ‘lemon can make it too loose’)

o 1 Tbsp brown sugar

Method:

In a small bowl combine all of the above. Make into small balls and cook on high in microwave for ? mins or cook in a conventional oven for 15 -20 minutes.

Sweet and sour sauce ingredients:

o 3 Tbsp brown sugar

o 1/2 cup vinegar (malt?)

o 1/2 cup tom sauce

o 1 tsp chili sauce.

Method:

Cook in microwave in a large bowl for 7 minutes. Pour over meatballs before cooking or after.

(Kate’s comment: I think the meatballs would taste nicer and stay juicier if they were cooked in the sauce, in a conventional oven, and I’d suggest to cover the dish too, so they don’t lose too much water. Watch they don’t burn, with all that sugar. But this is just a guess because I haven’t made them as at the time of writing.)