Chicken pot pie

For some reason, pies are not very common in Norway. You would think that a warm pie would be so cosy in a cold climate, but apparently they are very rarely found/eaten here. So yesterday I decided to cook chicken pot pies for my boyfriends family, and they turned out quite well.

Ingredients

2 Chicken fillets
Salt, pepper, herbs (I used Provence herb mix: thyme, rosemary, marjoram, basil, oregano, parsley)
1 Sweet paprika/red bell pepper
1 Leek
3 Mushrooms
1 Can of peas
1/2 Onion
3 Cloves of garlic
1 Cube of vegetable stock (can be replaced with a sachet of mushroom soup)
1tbsp Flour
Puff pastry or pie pastry, enough to cover the top of 4 bowls

(makes 4 pot pies)

• Fry the chicken in a little olive oil. Sprinkle the herbs, salt and pepper on each side as soon as you place the chicken in the pan.
• When cooked through, remove from pan and cut into small squares.
• Halve, then slice the mushrooms, onion,and leek, chop the papprika and crush the garlic.
• Fry the mushrooms and onion in the left over oil from the chicken.
• When the mushrooms start to brown, add the garlic, and a few minutes later add the leeks and paprika.
• Place the vegetable stock cube and tbsp of flour in a mug, crush the cube and slowly add boiling water while stirring. When the cup is full, add the mixture to the pan of veggies. Stir well and add another cup of boiling water.
• Add the peas and chicken, and stir occasionally until the mixture thickens.
• Share the pie mixture between 4 pie pots/bowls.
• Cover the bowls with pastry as shown, and press the sides into the pots to keep in place. I used a spoon to slice the excess pastry off the side of the bowls, and used the left over pastry to decorate the top of the pie.
• For a shiny finish, brush egg yoke over the pastry, and follow the instructions that come with the pastry (usually approx. 200C for 10-20 minutes depending on the type of pastry used, puff pastry usually takes less time to cook).

Beware of the heat! And bonne appétit!