Spring Haloodies Halal Chicken Pie

This delicious one-pan spring halal chicken pot pie with spinach and herbs is quick to make and is topped with crispy filo pastry for a lighter finish but I also love to use puff pastry as a treat!. This is pie is full of springs fresh flavours.

This recipe has a lot of time saving hacks, you can throw together super fast especially if you are like me and have some basics always stocked in your freezer. I always stock frozen peas and spinach they are the easiest side dish I love to add spinach to a lots of dishes I make especially curries and soups along with frozen peas so they are great to have to add some more nutrition, colour and protein to dishes. I also always add fresh or frozen spinach to my smoothies. Of course fresh is great too but I often stock both fresh and frozen! I try to keep pastry as well but in all honesty its usually full of Haloodies halal meat!  

How to make spring chicken pot pie?

Start by sautéing the leeks, garlic and mushrooms in butter and olive oil until softened and sweet. Deglaze the pan with a little vegetable stock. Then add the veggies and the chicken and allow to sauté until spinach is wilted. Sprinkle over the flour and stir it into the filling and then add the rest of the broth scraping up the bottom of the pot and stirring until slightly thickened. Stir in the crème fraîche or sour cream and then off the heat layer crinkled sheets of filo over filling, brush with olive oil and bake until golden. Easy as that for a hearty and delicious spring dinner.

The filo pastry gives this dish a lighter topping and the Haloodies halal chicken is delicious. It’s fun and it’s crunchy and makes a delicious topping. We served this right out of the pan. Set it on the table and dug right in. I think you will love how simple and delicious this pot pie is. It’s loaded with veggies and you can easily swap some of them out for your fav combo of veggies.  It’s much lighter than a regular pot pie but still has the same tasty qualities you love in a classic one.

Recipe

Servings: 4-6 portions

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 30 min

Total time: 40 min

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil plus a little extra for brushing over the pastry
• 1 tbsp of butter (optional - use extra olive oil in its place)
• 2 leeks white and light green parts only sliced in half lengthwise and then sliced thin (or 4-6 green onions)
• 250g frozen spinach or 3 cups of fresh
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 cup of sliced mushrooms  
• 6 Haloodies skinless chicken thighs, chopped or shredded you could also use leftover Haloodies whole chicken or breasts)
• 1 cup of chicken stock
• Zest of one lemon
• ½ tbsp Dijon mustard (or grainy mustard)
• 2 cups frozen peas
• 1 tbsp of flour
• ¾ cup of crème fraîche or sour cream alternatively
• 2 tsp thyme leaves finely chopped
• ¼ cup small bunch parsley finely chopped
• 270g pack filo pastry (approx 10 sheets)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 180 degrees 

2. Roast your chicken with a little olive oil, lemon and herbs until cooked (thighs usually 20mins) then shred of chop!

3. Heat olive oil and butter in a large, shallow dutch oven on medium heat. Add the leeks, garlic and mushrooms and sauté for 2-3 mins, deglaze the pan by adding a small amount of stock, then stir through the frozen spinach and cook for 2 mins or until it’s starting to wilt.

4. Stir in the halal chicken and then sprinkle over the flour and stir it in well. Stir in the stock and mustard along with the lemon zest. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 5-10 mins until reduced and slightly thickened.

5. Stir in the peas, crème fraîche and herbs, then remove from the heat. Taste and season well with salt and pepper. Scrunch the filo pastry sheets over the mixture, brush with a little oil and bake for 20-30 mins or until golden brown and bubbling at the sides

6. Allow to cool a couple minutes once out of the oven and then serve.