Chicken & vegetable pot pie

 






Amongst the recent summer heat, last week we were surprised with a bit of a cool snap for a couple of days.  It was actually a welcome relief from some of the heat and nice to get into the kitchen to cook something warming and take a break from all the summer salads of late.

I had some chicken breast and puff pastry in the freezer and together with a few vegies emerged this pot pie.  I've got to say that it looked impressive coming out of the oven all puffed up and perfectly golden.   The pastry was cooked to a perfect crispiness and the sauce inside was oozy and creamy,; neither too runny or too thick.

The only thing I would normally do differently is to use chicken thighs instead of breast but it's what I had on hand.  I also change around the vegetables depending on what's in season or what is left lurking in the vegetable crisper by the end of the week. 

 

The written recipe is below and you can also watch the embedded video to see how I make this recipe.

Chicken & vegetable pot pie

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
2 Tbs olive oil
1 diced onion
2 tsp garlic, minced
500gm chicken, diced
1 large zucchini, diced
1 large carrot, diced
200gm green beans, sliced
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup hot water
1/3 cup light cream
1/4 cup plain flour
2 tsp mustard powder or Dijon mustard
2 sheets puff pastry, defrosted
1 egg, lightly beaten
S&P

1.  Preheat oven to 200C
2.  In a hot pan add the oil.  Add onion and sauté for a few minutes. 
3.  Add the chicken and fry for a couple of minutes until the chicken pieces are sealed.
4.  Add the vegetables and fry for a few minutes.
5.  Add the mustard powder and flour and fry for a few minutes to ensure the flour is fried off.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
6.  Add the stock, water and cream.  Stir to combine and allow to come to a simmer.  Simmer for a few minutes until the sauce is thickened.
7.  Pour the chicken mixture into a family sized casserole dish.
8.  Lay the pastry over the top and tuck the edges along the inner side of the casserole dish.  Make a slit in the centre with a knife to allow steam to escape.
9.  Brush the pastry with egg.
10.  Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes or until the pastry is perfectly golden.
11.  Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Singapore noodles

Singapore noodles are one of my favourite dinners to eat at home.  The dish is easy to prepare and you can stick to a more traditional recipe or change it up by varying the meat and vegetables.  It is also really good using tofu instead of meat or fish.

In this recipe I used egg noodles that I had on hand but I also make this dish with rice vermicelli noodles.  In my opinion, the fine rice noodles work better and really soak up all the flavours.

If you like a bit of heat in your noodles, then I suggest using a hot curry powder instead of the mild one I used or alternatively add some chilli flakes for that extra kick of spice.
Like all stir fry dishes, this is a speedy dish so it pays to have all your ingredients prepared and ready to go so you can just throw them into the wok.

Below the recipe you will find a video of me making this dish so go ahead and take a look at it if you would like to see how I made it.

Singapore noodles

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 sliced red capsicum
4 Tbs vegetable, peanut or canola oil
400-450g noodles - prepared according to packet instructions
400 g raw prawns
1/2 cup frozen peas
6 spring onions, finely sliced
1/4 cup coriander, chopped
2 tsp ginger, grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs curry powder
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
3 Tbs soy sauce

1.  Heat the oil in a pan or wok.  Add the spring onions and fry for about 5 minutes until soft.
2.  Add the garlic and ginger and curry powder and fry for about 1 minute until fragrant.
3.  Add prawns and peas and cook until the prawns are almost cooked (the prawns will turn opaque when cooked).
4.  To the pan, add the noodles, soy sauce, lemon juice and coriander.  Stir well to incorporate all the ingredients and fry for a couple minutes until the noodles are fully heated through and the prawns cooked.
5.  Serve with wedge of lemon if desired.

Shredded chicken Asian salad

Meal worthy salads are one of the staples at the Shady Pine. A tasty salad that is substantial enough to eat as a meal and also one that can be made in larger quantities to be eaten later is a winner in my book.


I made this salad using leftover rotisserie chicken but feel free to replace this with a home roasted chicken or even a slowly poached chicken breast in some chicken stock and maybe a few aromats like ginger, coriander roots, lemongrass or the like.

I added vegetables I had; carrots, red cabbage and spring onions. I also intended to use finely sliced red capsicum but forgot. Again, what you use here can easily be adapted. Replace the red cabbage for wombok, add some bean sprouts or shredded snow peas or both.


This salad can be an easy mid week meal or it can be made in a larger quantity, served on a beautiful platter, sprinkled with toasted peanuts and served at an al fresco luncheon on a warm day (with a glass of chilled sauvignon blanc or perhaps).



Shredded chicken Asian salad
Serves 2

Ingredients:
1 cup of cooked chicken, shredded
1 carrot, grated
3 spring onions, white and green parts chopped
1 cup red cabbage, finely shredded
½ cup coriander leaves

Dressing:
½ long red chilli, finely diced
Juice of 1/2 lime
2 Tbs rice wine vinegar
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
2tsp raw caster sugar
2 Tbs olive oil

1. Combine chicken and all salad vegetables into a bowl
2. Combine all the dressing ingredients and mix well. Pour dressing over the salad vegetables and mix through the salad. (Sprinkle with toasted peanuts or sesame seeds if desired).