LEMONY ROAST CHICKEN PIE

Lemony roast chicken pie image

A pie that's worth taking the time over, crisp shortcrust pastry filled with roasted chicken and a creamy onion and fennel sauce

Provided by Sarah Cook

Time 4h15m

Number Of Ingredients 13

Ingredients

3 lemons , 2 halved
1 large chicken , about 1.85kg
25g softened butter
2 celery sticks, diced
1 onion , diced
1 large fennel bulb , diced
50g flour
500ml chicken stock
170ml pot single cream
small pack flat-leaf parsley , chopped
500g pack all-butter shortcrust pastry
little flour , for dusting
1 egg , beaten with a fork

Steps:

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Push lemon halves inside the chicken's cavity - they should all fit if you fiddle them around. Sit chicken in a smallish roasting tin, smear butter over the breasts and season well. Roast, breast-side up, for 30 mins, then flip over and roast, breast-side down, for a further 1 hr 30 mins-1 hr 40 mins until the chicken is cooked through and juices run clear when you pierce the thigh with a knife.
With 30 mins to go, pour all juices from the tin into a jug. After juices and fat separate, spoon 50ml fat from the top into a big, wide pan. Add the celery, onion and fennel, and soften gently for 20 mins.
When the chicken is done, pour any more juices into the jug. Reserve an extra 2 tbsp fat (see Nearly spring greens, related recipes) and discard remaining fat. On the heat, stir the flour into the veg until absorbed, then gradually stir in the stock and chicken roasting juices, simmering to a sauce. Stir in cream and parsley, remove from the heat and season.
Shred chicken from the carcass in large-ish chunks, discarding skin - if the bird is still hot, use clean rubber gloves or 2 forks. Juice the roasted lemons, pick out the seeds and stir all the juices and roasted pulp into the sauce with the chicken. Taste and season with a squeeze more juice from the final lemon if it needs it. Tip into a large pie dish.
Roll out the pastry on a flour-dusted surface until big enough to cover the pie. Brush the rim of the dish with beaten egg and lift on the pastry. Trim edges, then press and crimp to seal. Brush all over with more egg and bake for 30-40 mins until golden and crisp.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 754 calories, Fat 48 grams fat, SaturatedFat 17 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 46 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 4 grams sugar, Fiber 4 grams fiber, Protein 34 grams protein, Sodium 1.4 milligram of sodium