Chicken, Wild Mushroom and Courgette Puff Pastry Pie

50g dried wild mushrooms (available from most large supermarkets)

15g butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium leek, washed, halved lengthways and thinly sliced

3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

7 baby courgettes, sliced or 1 medium courgette, halved lengthways and sliced into half moons of about .5 cm thickness

500g skinned and boned chicken thigh fillets, cut into rough chunks

1 tbsp of flour and 1 tbsp of softened butter

1 chicken stock cube

100 ml double cream

7-8 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked

1 pack of ready made all butter puff pastry

1 egg, whisked to make an egg wash

1. Cover the mushrooms with 1 litre of boiling water to rehydrate them- this takes about 15 minutes. Set aside until needed.
2. Heat the butter and oil in a heavy based saucepan. Add the leek and garlic and sauté on a low heat for 5 minutes until soft, stirring regularly to stop from burning or catching.
3. Add the chicken and sauté for a further 3 minutes or so until the chicken starts to cook and turn white.
4. Add the mushrooms and their stock, the stock cube and and half of the thyme leaves. Increase the heat to bring to the boil, then reduce the heat again and allow this to simmer for 30 minutes, by which time the liquid should have reduced by half.
5. Mix the softened butter with the flour to make a thick but smooth paste, add to the chicken mixture, stir well and simmer for about 5 minutes. This will thicken the sauce.
6. Add the cream and remaining thyme and simmer for a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before adding the chopped courgettes. Season to taste and transfer to your pie dish and set aside to cool.
7. Preheat oven to 180’C/ gas mark 4
8. To prepare the pastry, roll out on a lightly floured surface until it is about 0.5cm thick. Cut out a ‘lid’ for your pie which is slightly bigger than the dish you are serving it in. Cut out 2-3 long strips of pastry also, about 1 cm wide.
9. Line your pie dish with the strips of pastry, brush with a little egg wash and place the lid on top, pressing the edges together to seal.
10. If you are feeling decorative cut letters or shapes out of the remaining pastry and place on top of the pie. Brush with egg wash and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the pie is golden, crisp, and piping hot throughout.

This pie is lovely served with cavolo nero which has been sautéed in a little butter.