Mary Berry's chicken and bacon pie, a creamy dish topped with a pastry lattice, can be prepared up to two days in advance and serves six people. The recipe has earned more than 20 five-star reviews on BBC Food.
Recipe description and ingredients
The recipe description stated: "This creamy chicken and bacon pie topped with an impressive pastry lattice makes a wonderful centrepiece for a special family meal. If you want to keep things simple, just top with a sheet of puff pastry and trim."
The ingredients include six skinless chicken legs, four diced celery sticks, roughly sliced bay leaves, 200ml dry white wine, 300ml chicken stock, 250g smoked back bacon cut into small pieces, one large roughly chopped onion, 50g butter, 60g plain flour, two tablespoons of full-fat crème fraîche, one tablespoon of grainy mustard, two 375g ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry sheets, one beaten egg, and salt and pepper.
Method for preparing the filling
Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C Fan before placing the chicken legs, celery, and bay leaves into a large ovenproof saucepan. Pour over the wine and stock, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil over medium-high heat, cover with a lid, and transfer to the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the chicken legs are cooked and tender. Set aside to cool.
Once cooled, remove the meat from the chicken bones. The bones can be kept and used for stock. Break the meat into bite-sized pieces before transferring to a bowl. Strain the stock, keeping the celery and discarding the bay leaves, and measure out the liquid. You should have approximately 750ml. If not, top up the difference with a little extra stock or white wine.
Heat a large frying pan and cook the bacon pieces over a medium-high heat for three minutes. Add the onion, place a lid on top, and continue cooking for a further 10 minutes until the onion has softened. Add the butter, stirring until fully melted, then scatter over the flour to create a roux. Gradually pour the reserved liquid into the roux, whisking continuously as you go, and stir over a high heat until the mixture thickens into a smooth sauce. Take care not to add too much liquid at once.
Assembling and baking the pie
Season with a little salt and pepper, then fold in the reserved celery, crème fraîche and mustard before incorporating the chicken pieces. Spoon the filling into the ovenproof dish and smooth the surface. Allow to cool completely, then cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare the pastry for the pie. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each sheet of pastry to approximately 3mm in thickness. Slice each piece into long, generous strips, roughly 3cm in width. You will need sufficient strips to cover the top of the dish, around 16 in total. Weave the strips together on a sheet of baking parchment until you have a pastry lattice large enough to cover the pie.
Place in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm up or, if time permits, freeze until solid. Remove the filling from the fridge and brush the edges of the dish with a little beaten egg. Carefully lift the pastry lattice from the baking parchment and place it over the chilled filling. Trim away any excess pastry around the rim and press down gently to seal.
Raise the oven temperature to 200°C/180°C (Fan). Coat the pastry with the leftover beaten egg, then bake for 30 minutes, until golden brown and thoroughly cooked, with the chicken bubbling away. Serve immediately while piping hot.
