Chicken and Leek Pie with Creme Fraiche

Chicken and leek pie with a wholegrain mustard, white wine and creme fraiche sauce topped with a golden puff pastry lid in individual pots.

Cooking this dish takes a while but the filling can be made days in advance and chilled or frozen. All you then need to do is add a lid and bake in the oven!

Individual Chicken Pot Pies

To say that us Brits have a bit of a thing for pie is something of an understatement!

Generally speaking our pies overwhelming favour savoury pies and I’m no different.

I’ve got recipes for everything from steak and ale pies in a hot crust pastry, steak and stilton pies in a shortcrust pastry and cheese and onion plate pies to potato-topped cottage pies and glorious corned beef hash pies.

My latest offering is a fantastic chicken and leek pie with a white wine, mustard and creme fraiche sauce.

The filling is nice and easy to make and it can be pulled together a couple of days in advance. You can even freeze it and make a big batch to make pies later.

Then it is topped with a puff pastry lid and baked until it is golden and flaky. If you have any leftover pastry you can do no better than knock up some of my cheese and bacon turnovers.

I serve them as individual pies because as far as I am concerned nothing feels quite as special as whole pie all for me!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a different type of pastry?

Yes, you could top this pie with any pastry you like! I’ve even made a larger pie and put scrunched-up filo pastry on top brushed with an obscene amount of butter.

Just be careful of your cooking times, the filling is cooked, so you just need to cook the pastry and heat up the filling.

You could also stuff it inside a shortcrust pie casing, the timings and methodology in my chicken and bacon pie will help with this.

Can I make a larger pie?

Yes, this recipe produces 800ml of the filling (just over 3 cups). You can use a single pie dish so long as its capacity is similar to this.

Do I have to use thyme?

No there are a host of herbs that work really well in this pie. Either tarragon or sage are the ones that immediately spring to mind.

Can I use a different type of mustard?

Definitely, everything from strong English mustard to mild Dijon mustard works fine. You can add according to your tastes.

Can I use low-fat creme fraiche?

You could, however, if you do then you increase the possibility of the sauce splitting. It will still taste good, but it will look unappetising.

Serving Suggestions

This chicken and leek pie is a hearty old pie and for me, the only thing I like to add on the side are some greens.

I like to keep them pretty light, too, my days of consuming 2,000 calories for dinner are long behind me… I’m not sure if that pleases or saddens me!

Here my pies are served with some roasted tenderstem broccoli, it works so well because it can go in the oven at the same temperature as the pies.

It would also work really well with my garlic green beans amandine or glazed Chantenay carrots.

Some buttered cabbage or even my braised cavolo nero would be superb too.

Equipment Used

I only recommend Specific Brands of equipment if I think that it makes a material difference to a recipe. If you have any questions feel free to ask them in the comments section below the recipe.

• Stovetop.
• Oven.
• 20cm or 8″ Saucepan.
• 28cm or 11″ frying pan.
• 2 Pie Dishes, 400ml capacity or 12.5cm diameter by 5cm deep or 5″ x 2″.
• Chopping board.
• Sharp kitchen knife.
• Sieve.
• Pastry brush.
• Mixing bowls.
• Weighing scales and or measuring cups and spoons.