Spring Chicken Pie with Wild Garlic & Asparagus

by Anna Hedworth, featured in Service

Published by Quadrille

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Introduction

The gasps are audible from the large group as the pies are set down in the middle of the table, and everyone reaches for their phones at once. ‘LOOK at that, oh my goodness it is so beautiful. Oh, look Alice, take a photo, send it to Mum, she would love that.’ I listen, smiling. This is one of my favourite pies to prepare for the oven and to send out – it looks like an actual painting.

The Cook House Chicken Pie has been famous for some time, but this year I feel we upped it a notch by adding wild garlic to the mix, along with fresh asparagus and tarragon. Liberty made a Spring Chicken Pie with Wild Garlic & Asparagus.

For US measures and ingredient names, use the toggle at the top of the ingredients list.

As featured in

Service

Image of Anna Hedworth's Spring Chicken Pie — Photo by Andrew Montgomery

Ingredients

Serves: 6

Metric U.S.

FOR THE FILLING

1 whole chicken
1 leek (chopped)
4 garlic cloves
3 onions (1 chopped and 2 sliced into chunky rounds)
a few peppercorns
20 grams butter (for the onions)
250 grams asparagus (trimmed and chopped on the diagonal into 2.5cm/1in pieces)

FOR THE PARMESAN & CAYENNE SHORTCRUST PASTRY

420 grams plain flour (plus extra for dusting)
250 grams ice-cold unsalted butter (cubed)
60 grams grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 - 2 teaspoons ice-cold water
1 egg beaten (for brushing)

FOR THE SAUCE

30 grams butter
30 grams plain flour
800 millilitres full fat milk
handful of roughly chopped wild garlic plus extra leaves and flowers to top the pie
handful of fresh tarragon (finely chopped)
salt and pepper

FOR THE FILLING

1 whole chicken
1 leek (chopped)
4 garlic cloves
3 onions (1 chopped and 2 sliced into chunky rounds)
a few peppercorns
¾ ounce butter (for the onions)
9 ounces asparagus (trimmed and chopped on the diagonal into 2.5cm/1in pieces)

FOR THE PARMESAN & CAYENNE SHORTCRUST PASTRY

14¾ ounces all-purpose flour (plus extra for dusting)
9 ounces ice-cold unsalted butter (cubed)
2¼ ounces grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 - 2 teaspoons ice-cold water
1 egg beaten (for brushing)

FOR THE SAUCE

1 ounce butter
1 ounce all-purpose flour
3½ cups whole milk
handful of roughly chopped ramps plus extra leaves and flowers to top the pie
handful of fresh tarragon (finely chopped)
salt and pepper

Method

Spring Chicken Pie with Wild Garlic & Asparagus is a guest recipe by Anna Hedworth so we are not able to answer questions regarding this recipe

Put the whole chicken in a large stockpot with the leek, garlic, the chopped onion and some peppercorns. Fill the pan with cold water, bring it to the boil, then let it simmer very gently for 45 minutes, until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 70°C/158°F if you have a temperature probe, or the juices run clear when you insert a skewer into the thigh. Once done, transfer the chicken from the pot to a tray to rest and cool slightly. Reserve the stock.
While the chicken is poaching, melt the butter in a frying pan (skillet) and gently cook the remaining 2 sliced onions until meltingly soft – about 30 minutes, I find.
For the pastry, add the flour, cubed butter, Parmesan, cayenne pepper and salt to a food processor and quickly pulse to a fine crumb. Add a teaspoon of cold water at a time until the pastry comes together – be careful not to make it too wet or it will be tough. Tip the dough onto a floured surface and use your hands to lightly bring it together into a ball, then wrap in cling film (plastic wrap) and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to rest. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred the meat from the bone into pie-size chunks. Mingle the chicken, onions and asparagus together in a large pie dish approximately 30 x 25cm (12 x 10in) and season with salt and pepper.
Now to make the white sauce. Melt the butter in a pan and add the flour, then whisk for a few minutes, allowing it to cook through until it smells biscuity. Start to whisk in the milk gradually – it will thicken up very quickly to start with, but just keep whisking and adding the milk a little at a time, letting it heat through between additions. It will continue to thicken as it gets hot. Once you have added all the milk, add a couple of ladlefuls of the reserved stock and let it heat through. You’re aiming for a silky sauce, about the thickness of cream.
Finally, season the sauce with salt and pepper and stir through the chopped wild garlic and tarragon. Pour the sauce into the pie dish and mix until the chicken and vegetables are fully coated.
Preheat the oven to 190°C fan/210°C/410°F/gas mark 6½ while you assemble the pie.
Roll out the pastry on a floured surface until it is big enough to fit your pie dish – it should be about 5mm (¼in) thick. Beat the egg and brush a little around the edge of your dish. Then place the pastry over the pie dish, pressing on the edges so the pastry sticks to the dish. Trim off the excess pastry and crimp the edge using your finger and thumb in a pinching motion.
Brush the top of the pie with more beaten egg and lay whole wild garlic leaves and any flowers over the top as garnish. Brush them with the remaining egg and they will bake beautifully into your pastry. Bake the pie for 40 minutes until the pastry is golden all over and the filling is bubbling, then remove from the oven and allow it to rest for 15 minutes, giving it time to settle, before you dive in.

Put the whole chicken in a large stockpot with the leek, garlic, the chopped onion and some peppercorns. Fill the pan with cold water, bring it to the boil, then let it simmer very gently for 45 minutes, until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 70°C/158°F if you have a temperature probe, or the juices run clear when you insert a skewer into the thigh. Once done, transfer the chicken from the pot to a tray to rest and cool slightly. Reserve the stock.
While the chicken is poaching, melt the butter in a frying pan (skillet) and gently cook the remaining 2 sliced onions until meltingly soft – about 30 minutes, I find.
For the pastry, add the flour, cubed butter, Parmesan, cayenne pepper and salt to a food processor and quickly pulse to a fine crumb. Add a teaspoon of cold water at a time until the pastry comes together – be careful not to make it too wet or it will be tough. Tip the dough onto a floured surface and use your hands to lightly bring it together into a ball, then wrap in cling film (plastic wrap) and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to rest. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred the meat from the bone into pie-size chunks. Mingle the chicken, onions and asparagus together in a large pie dish approximately 30 x 25cm (12 x 10in) and season with salt and pepper.
Now to make the white sauce. Melt the butter in a pan and add the flour, then whisk for a few minutes, allowing it to cook through until it smells biscuity. Start to whisk in the milk gradually – it will thicken up very quickly to start with, but just keep whisking and adding the milk a little at a time, letting it heat through between additions. It will continue to thicken as it gets hot. Once you have added all the milk, add a couple of ladlefuls of the reserved stock and let it heat through. You’re aiming for a silky sauce, about the thickness of cream.
Finally, season the sauce with salt and pepper and stir through the chopped ramps and tarragon. Pour the sauce into the pie dish and mix until the chicken and vegetables are fully coated.
Preheat the oven to 190°C fan/210°C/410°F/gas mark 6½ while you assemble the pie.
Roll out the pastry on a floured surface until it is big enough to fit your pie dish – it should be about 5mm (¼in) thick. Beat the egg and brush a little around the edge of your dish. Then place the pastry over the pie dish, pressing on the edges so the pastry sticks to the dish. Trim off the excess pastry and crimp the edge using your finger and thumb in a pinching motion.
Brush the top of the pie with more beaten egg and lay whole ramps leaves and any flowers over the top as garnish. Brush them with the remaining egg and they will bake beautifully into your pastry. Bake the pie for 40 minutes until the pastry is golden all over and the filling is bubbling, then remove from the oven and allow it to rest for 15 minutes, giving it time to settle, before you dive in.