Chicken pie is the ultimate comfort food that brings families together around the dinner table. Picture this: a mouthwatering homemade chicken pie that will make your taste buds dance with delight!

Buttery pastry hugging tender, succulent chicken pieces, and to top it all off, sweet leeks swimming in a luscious creamy sauce.

It's the perfect sharing dish that will leave everyone wanting more.

Ingredients:

1.5 kg whole chicken, olive oil, 150 g smoked pancetta, fresh thyme, 1 leek, 1 celery heart, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 2 tablespoons plain flour, 1 teaspoon mustard, some mushrooms, 1 egg

For the pastry:

500 g plain flour

250 g cold butter

For the cabbage:

2 cabbage

1 teaspoon mustard

white pepper

Instructions:

1. Cut the chicken in half and season with salt and pepper. Sear the chicken in a frying pan with oil for 10 minutes.

2. Chop the pancetta and thyme and cook in a casserole pan with oil. Chop the leek, celery, onion, and carrot and add to the pan. Cook for 10 minutes.

3. Stir in flour, cook for 2 minutes. Stir in mustard and stock.

4. Add the chicken to the pan, cover, and cook on low heat for 1 hour. To whip up the pastry, simply combine flour and salt in a bowl. Grate in cold butter and rub with fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs.

5. Pour in cold water, mix with a fork, then bring together with your hands until it forms a dough. Divide into two pieces and chill until needed. Slice mushrooms and set aside.

6. Shred cooked chicken meat and discard the carcass. Stir mushrooms into the pan, followed by shredded chicken and cream. Mix well and season to taste.

7. Strain chicken mixture through a sieve over a clean pan to catch liquid for gravy. Leave to cool. Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5.

8. Grease the pie dish with oil. Roll out the larger piece of pastry between two sheets of greaseproof paper and use it to line the dish. Fill with cooled chicken mixture, then roll out the remaining pastry and top the pie with it.

9. Beat egg and brush over the edge of the lid then fold over the overhang to seal. Egg wash pie all over, then make a small incision in the center to let steam escape.

10. Bake at the bottom of the oven for 1 hour or until the pastry is golden and the pie is hot. For cabbage, discard the outer leaves then cut them in half. Finely slice the core then chop the rest into large chunks.

11. Fry cabbage stalks in a chicken pan for 2 minutes, then add leaves with a splash of water and cook for 5 minutes more. Stir in mustard, salt, white pepper, and water then simmer for 1 minute.

and then let's enjoy the Chicken Pie with cabbage.