Traditional Chicken and Mushroom Pie - Celebrating British comfort food at its very best!
Savoury pies are serious business in Britain, and one of the oldest traditional English dishes, dating as far back as to the Middle ages.
Traditional fillings for hot pies include chicken & mushroom, steak & ale, minced beef & onion, lamb, or meat & potato.
Different types of pastry are used, including short crust and puff, and it's really hard to tell which ones are the best.
Another type of pie is topped with mashed potato instead of pastry, the traditional Shepherd's Pie is a must-try around British pubs.
This Mini Chicken & Mushroom Pie is my tasty way to celebrate British Pie Week.
This is the very first pie I have tasted in London, and still my favorite after almost a decade.
The chunky pieces of chicken are tender and flavorful, the creamy filling is rich and perfectly complimented by nutty mushrooms and crispy leeks.
It's hard to resist something like that. In one of those too-many rainy days in the city, a chicken and mushroom pie is the treat that makes you the weather bearable, even okay.
This recipe is ideal to make on the weekend, it's the perfect comfort food for a Sunday dinner or a picnic, for brunch/lunch/snack... anytime really.
The shortcrust pastry is easy to make and requires only 4 simple ingredients: flour, butter, cold water and salt.
It's completely fuss-free, and it really makes a fantastic upgrade to the pie.
Once you start making your own pastry, you'll discover a whole new world of flavors, and endless uses both for savory and sweet recipes.
These mini Chicken and Mushroom pies make a fantastic happy hour snack or a traditional appetizer for an British dinner menu. They're so good you'll want to make them again and again!
I hope you give these cute pies a try. If you do, please let me know how you liked and write a comment below!
More British Recipes:
The Original Coronation Chicken
Traditional British Mini Chicken & Mushroom Pie
Ingredients
For the shortcrust pastry:
- 400 g all purpose flour
- 200 g cold butter cut into chunks
- a pinch of salt
- 120 ml very cold water
For the chicken and mushroom filling:
- 400 g chicken breast cut into small cubes
- 300 g chestnut mushrooms sliced
- 2 leeks finely sliced
- 2 tbsp butter softened
- 2 tbsp all purpose flour
- 500 ml chicken stock
- 1/2 glass dry white wine
- 100 ml fresh double cream
- 3 tbsp extravirgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 egg + 2 tbsp water whisked together for brushing
Instructions
For the shortcrust pastry:
- In a blender, put together flour,butter, and a pinch of salt and pulse until the mixture is sandy-looking.
- Transfer the mixture into a large bowl. Knead quickly while gently pouring cold water in, until the dough is compact, firm and elastic enough.
- Shape the dough into a rectangular, and wrap in plastic film. Let refrigerate for at least 40 min.
For the chicken and mushroom filling:
- In a very large skillet heat the olive oil, add the sliced leeks and stir-fry for about 5 min, or until crisp.
- Add the chicken, searing well the meat on all sides; Finally, add the mushrooms. Pour the white wine in and season with salt and pepper. Allow the alcohol to evaporate, then pour 1/3 cup of chicken stock in, and simmer until chicken is cooked through.
- In a saucepan melt the butter and add the flour, stirring with a whisk.
- Pour in the remaining chicken stock, stirring constantly to prevent lumps from forming. Thicken the cream over low heat and then add it to the chicken.
- Add fresh thyme leaves and double cream, cook over low heat for about 5 min,until the filling has thicken enough.
For the chicken and mushroom pies:
- Roll out the refrigerated shortcrust pastry into 1/3 inch high sheet over a clean surface sprinkled with flour. Cut out 16 10cm circles and use half to line 8 non-stick tart tins. Reserve the remaining pastry circles to top the pies.
- Pour 2-3 generous tbsp of chicken&mushroom mixture into the center of each pie, forming a mound.
- Cover each pie with a spare pastry circle, pressing the edges gently to firmly adhere and prevent from leaking.
- Brush the pies with the egg and water mixture and sprinkle with a little sea salt.
- Bake in a preheated oven to 190 ° C for about 50 minutes, until the pies are golden on top. Allow to rest 10 minutes outside the oven before serving.
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Looks delish, I LOVE pie and will definitely give this a go, just a quick one I am lactose intolerant so wondering if you think that any of the ingredients can be substituted for more lactose-free ones (similar product but with added lactase)? Hopefully they can cos would love to give this a go!
Hi Andrea, I made these today in muffin tins with left over chicken and just mushrooms, no leek and no cream. They turned out really well. I wish I could post a picture, but it won’t let me. In the process of following your recipe, I also managed to get a total non cook excites about making tasty food. Thank you!
I'm so happy to hear you liked these Alexandra! I'd absolutely love to see the picture, can you please share it on Instagram and tag #thepetitecook? 🙂 By the way using the muffin tin is such a clever idea, I'm gonna try it next time!
I would love to try your receipt but I would like to prepare them in advance because I don´t have that much time on the actual day when I want to serve them. Do you think I can freeze them. And if yes should I still bake and freeze them then or freeze them unbaked. Thanks for you reply 😉
I used muffin tins since I didn't have mini tart pans, and I didn't do a very good job shaping the dough. Between the misshapen crust and the sauce that overflowed and then burned, it looked like a complete disaster... but it tastes good so I'd call it a success.
Love your positivism Karen! I'm glad it tasted good, that's all it matters in the end right? Next time, try to refrigerate the dough a little, it should be easier to shape after!
If i want to prepare the pies in tins and bake it the next morning....can the pies go straight from the fridge into the oven or do i need to leave them out for awhile till they get to room temperature before going into the oven?
Heya! Yes, the pies can go straight from the fridge to the oven, it's actually better for the baking process 🙂 let me know how they turn out!
Hii I just wanted to know how many calories are in each pie. Thanks in advance
What size tart tins? I'm just starting out so it's not obvious to me. Please say! Thanks in advance!
Mike
Hi Mike! I've used these individual tart tins. The size is 10 cm. With the same ingredients you can also make one large pie ( about 23 cm). Hope you like those! 🙂
Poor recipe. point 6 - "add the white wine" - what white wine? Point 9 - "add...double cream" - what double cream? It would be nice if you listed all the ingredients necessary!
You’re so right! I’m so so sorry, I completely forgot to list them 🙁 There are quite a few ingredients so they must have slipped out. I’ve updated the recipe now, thanks for letting me know!