Leftovers forchicken pie

The Step Up programme cookery class at Carrickfergus Cookery School learned how to use up leftover roast chicken by making an all time family favourite-a good old chicken pie.
Arlene Thompson. INLT-11-11-10 600-CONArlene Thompson. INLT-11-11-10 600-CON
Arlene Thompson. INLT-11-11-10 600-CON

Chicken and mushroom pie

500g leftover cooked chicken cut into cubes

2 tbsp vegetable oil

150g button mushrooms, quartered

1 small onion, finely chopped

50g butter

2 tbsp plain flour, plus extra for dusting

300ml milk

200ml chicken stock

freshly grated nutmeg, to taste

salt and pepper

small handful fresh parsley, chopped

500g ready-made short-crust pastry

1 free-range egg, beaten

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

2. Heat oil in a medium pan, add onion and fry for 2-3 minutes until softened, then add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and fry for 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and place in a pie dish.

3. Melt butter in a saucepan, stir in flour and cook for about three minutes, stirring constantly until it has formed a thick smooth paste. Remove from the heat.

4. Mix milk and stock together in a jug, then add the nutmeg and salt and pepper. Pour liquid slowly into the flour mixture, whisking until smooth. Simmer over a gentle heat, stirring constantly, for about five minutes or until the sauce has thickened.

5. Stir in chopped parsley and pour sauce over mushroom mixture and allow to cool. Add the cooked chicken and mix well.

6. Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface until it is the thickness of a pound coin. Use top of pie dish to place on top of pastry and cut out a lid for pie. Then cut a long thin strip around the lid, about 1 cm wide. Brush edges of pie dish with beaten egg and lay strip of pastry on top. Brush top of the strip with beaten egg and lay the lid on top, pressing down edges with back of a fork. Cut some leaf shapes out of the left-over pastry to decorate and stick using beaten egg. Brush all over with beaten egg. Make slits in the top of the pie and bake for 20-25 minutes.