How to make chicken, pancetta and vegetable pie

Forget takeaway pies when you could make your own for half the price

Chicken, pancetta and vegetable pie

1½ kg whole corn-fed chicken
½ tsp peppercorns
2 bay leaves
3 thyme sprigs
1 onion, skin on, halved
2 celery sticks
½ tsp salt
40g butter
40g plain flour, plus extra for rolling
100g diced pancetta
50ml white wine
350ml milk, warmed
400ml chicken stock, from your cooked chicken
Pinch nutmeg
1 tsp dijon mustard
30g mature cheddar cheese
200g vegetables; mix of broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, peas, sweetcorn
1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon or 1 tsp dried tarragon
250g puff pastry
Beaten egg, for glazing

Put the whole chicken into a deep saucepan and cover with cold water. Add the bay leaves, thyme sprigs, onion, celery and salt and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 1-1¼ hours until the chicken is cooked.

Transfer the chicken to a serving dish to cool and strain 400ml of the stock into a measuring jug. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, strip the meat from the chicken carcass, break into bite-size pieces and put into a 1.7l serving dish.

Preheat the oven to 220C. Heat the butter in a saucepan and fry the pancetta until crispy. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.

Whilst stirring add the wine and then slowly the warmed milk and chicken stock, making sure to stir continuously so that the sauce does not go lumpy. Continue to stir until the sauce simmers and is thick and glossy. Finally add the Dijon mustard, cheese, vegetables and tarragon. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the sauce over the chicken.

Place the pastry onto a floured surface. Dust your rolling pin with flour. Roll out the pastry so that it is 4cm larger than the top of the pie dish.

Brush the rim of the pie dish with beaten egg or water. Carefully lift the pastry over the top of the pie dish and trim the edges. Press the outside edge with your fingers or a fork so that the edges are sealed. Brush the top of the pastry with a beaten egg or milk and make a small hole in the middle of the pastry to allow the air to escape.

Bake the pie for 30-35 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and puffed up.

To test if your chicken is cooked pierce the leg joint with a knife. If the juices run clear the chicken is cooked, if blood still runs out, the chicken is not.

This recipe is by Imogen Krupski, chef and director of Capital Cooking. For more recipes, visit capitalcooking.co.uk