Chicken Pie

The 2nd thing on dinner the other night was chicken pie. I made it more like a shepherds pie . Honestly i came up with a concoction of my own for the same . Have a look at what i did and then decide for your self.

What you Need.
For the pie:
1 celery with the stem chopped into fine pieces
A small bunch of parsley
A little rosemary fresh preferably
A little thyme fresh preferably
Mushroom 150 gms
Spring onions 2 stalks with the bulb
Finally chopped garlic.6-7 cloves.
Sweet corn a fist full.
White wine 1 cup
Flour (maida) 1 tbsp
100 gms butter
Chicken stalk 3-4cups. (Recipie Below)
200 gms chicken bite size pieces
200 gms chicken Liver
Salt to taste.

For the topping.
Boiled potato 400 gms.
Milk 1/2 cup
Butter 100 gms

Method :


Take a non stick pan, add some olive oil to it and when the oil begins to sizzle add the garlic, once the aroma starts rising add the thyme and the rosemary. Now quickly (don't let the herbs burn too much) add the Chicken and cook for 7 minutes on high flame stirring constantly. Then add the chopped mushroom , spring onions, celery, chicken liver, sweet corn and cook for 5-7 minutes on high flame, season with some pepper. Reduce the flame and cook for further 3-5 minutes covered.
Take this out of the pan and to the same pan add butter, once the butter melts add flour and keep stirring so that no lumps are formed. To this add the wine and keep stirring till the alcohol burns out say 3 minutes. Once that's done add the chicken stalk and keep stirring. You will have a fine gravy. to this add the the cooked chicken and vegetable. and cook together for 5 minutes. Turn of the Gas.
Peel the boiled potatoes mash it and add milk and melted butter to it and mix it well. I added some fine chopped green chili, garlic and parsley to it. Go wild add any herb you like, season with pepper. Blend it really well so that you have fine paste of the potato. Now take a baking dish, put the pre-prepared chicken and top it up with the potato paste and bake in an oven at 200 degrees for 20 minutes or till you have a light brownish texture.

Note: You can add herbs to the butter and flour roux if you want. Also what i did for the chicken stalk was take 5 maggi cubes and added 3 cups of water to it and boiled it. Its as pretty ok. I am also adding a stalk recipe posted online make it if you have the time. Fresh is always better. I did not add salt as stalk generally has salt. You can if you want.

Chicken Stalk Recipe.: By Alton Brown

Ingredients

• 4 pounds chicken carcasses, including necks and backs
• 1 large onion, quartered
• 4 carrots, peeled and cut in 1/2
• 4 ribs celery, cut in 1/2
• 1 leek, white part only, cut in 1/2 lengthwise
• 10 sprigs fresh thyme
• 10 sprigs fresh parsley with stems
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 to 10 peppercorns
• 2 whole cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 gallons cold water

Directions

Place chicken, vegetables, and herbs and spices in 12-quart stockpot. Set opened steamer basket directly on ingredients in pot and pour over water. Cook on high heat until you begin to see bubbles break through the surface of the liquid. Turn heat down to medium low so that stock maintains low, gentle simmer. Skim the scum from the stock with a spoon or fine mesh strainer every 10 to 15 minutes for the first hour of cooking and twice each hour for the next 2 hours. Add hot water as needed to keep bones and vegetables submerged. Simmer uncovered for 6 to 8 hours.

Strain stock through a fine mesh strainer into another large stockpot or heatproof container discarding the solids. Cool immediately in large cooler of ice or a sink full of ice water to below 40 degrees. Place in refrigerator overnight. Remove solidified fat from surface of liquid and store in container with lid in refrigerator for 2 to 3 days or in freezer for up to 3 months. Prior to use, bring to boil for 2 minutes. Use as a base for soups and sauces.