#WeekendWarmer: Make a chicken and mushroom pie

Get out your favourite pie dish, warm up the oven and get ready to spruce up your cooking skills in just ten easy steps.

“A chicken and mushroom pie is a nice wholesome dish to try in the comfort of your home for the whole family to enjoy on the colder winter days,” says Wesli Jacobs, executive sous chef at the Table Bay Hotel. “It’s a dish that works well on its own, but is even more tasty with a side of sautéed vegetables.”

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Jacobs, who is obsessed with food and everything about it, has been part of this hotel’s family since the end of 2019 and believes his love affair with food began as a young boy helping his mom in the kitchen.

Recipe:

Difficulty: 5/10

Serves: 4

Hands-on time: 20 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

Filling

• Three boneless and skinless chicken breasts, cubed

• 150g of button mushrooms, quartered

• One small onion, chopped

• One garlic clove, finely chopped

• 50g of butter

• Two tbsp. of plain flour, plus more for dusting

• 300ml of milk

• 200ml of chicken stock

• 200g peeled baby carrots

• 100g leek stems cut into quarters

• 100g green beans

• 20g micro greens

• White pepper to season, freshly ground

• Two tbsp. of chives, chopped

• Two tbsp. of parsley, chopped

• 60g grated cheese

• One egg, beaten

• Two tbsp. of olive oil

• Salt to season

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Method

• For the cheese pastry, sift the 120g flour and pinch of salt into a bowl. Dice the 30g butter and 30g lard, then rub into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

• Mix in the 60g grated cheese, add just one beaten egg to bring the mixture together as a firm dough. Knead lightly and wrap the dough in cling film. Chill until required.

• Preheat the oven to 200°C.

• Heat the two tbsp. oil in a frying pan, add the three boneless chicken breasts and cook it until it starts to turn white. Add the 150g mushrooms and continue to fry until the chicken is golden-brown and the mushrooms have released all their moisture. Remove from the pan and set aside.

• Add a touch more oil to the same pan and sweat one small onion and one garlic clove for two to three minutes or until softened. Remove from the heat and set aside with the chicken and mushrooms.

• Melt 50g butter the butter in a saucepan, stir in the two tbsp. flour and cook for about three minutes, stirring constantly until it has formed a thick smooth paste.

• In a bowl, mix 200ml of chicken stock, 300ml milk, white pepper and salt together. Pour the liquid slowly into the flour mixture, whisking constantly on a medium heat until smooth. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring constantly for about five minutes or until the sauce has thickened.

• Stir in the two tbsp. parsley and two tbsp. chives and pour the sauce over the chicken and mushroom mixture. Mix well, then spoon into a pie dish and leave until completely cool.

• Roll out the cheddar cheese pastry dough on a lightly floured surface until it is the thickness of a pound coin (around 3mm). Brush the edges of the pie dish with one beaten egg; lay the pastry on top, press down the edges and trim. Brush the top of the pie with a beaten egg.

• Make two or three slits in the top of the pie to allow steam to escape, bake the pie in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until golden-brown on top.

• Sauté baby carrots, leeks and green beans in a pan until tender. Serve vegetables alongside baked pie and microgreens for garnish.