Delia Smith Chicken and Leek Pie Recipe

This Delia Smith chicken and leek pie recipe is from The Delia Collection: Chicken, and it is proper comfort food for a cold evening: chicken breasts poached in dry cider with leeks and carrots, folded into a cheese sauce with Cheddar, Parmesan, and nutmeg, then topped with puff pastry and baked until golden.

I made my first chicken and leek pie from this recipe on a grey January Sunday when I wanted something that felt like a hug, and it did exactly that. The cider in the filling gives it a sharpness that stops the cheese sauce feeling heavy, which is the kind of balance you do not get from a pie made with just stock.

More Chicken Recipes:

• Chicken and Mushroom Pie
• Chicken Casserole
• Chicken Chasseur

Cider Instead of Stock

Most chicken pie recipes poach the meat in stock, but this one uses dry cider, which adds an apple-sharp edge that cuts through the richness of the cheese sauce underneath the pastry. You reduce the cider after poaching and stir it back into the sauce, so none of that flavour gets thrown away with the cooking liquid.

I tried it once with stock to save a trip to the shop and the pie tasted flat and one-dimensional. The cider is doing more work than you realise until you leave it out.

Chicken and Leek Pie Ingredients

The recipe serves 2 generously from a small pie dish, but I double it into a larger dish when I am feeding four because nobody ever wants a small slice of something this good. You can swap half the leeks for mushrooms if you fancy, which takes it closer to a chicken and mushroom pie.

• 2 boneless chicken breasts, skin on
• 2 medium leeks
• 275 ml (10 fl oz) dry cider
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into 3mm rounds
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 small sprig of fresh thyme
• 225g (8 oz) puff pastry, fresh or frozen and defrosted
• A little plain flour for dusting
• 1 small egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon finely grated Parmesan, for sprinkling
• Salt and freshly milled black pepper

For the cheese sauce:

• 275 ml (10 fl oz) milk
• 20g (¾ oz) plain flour (all-purpose flour)
• 20g (¾ oz) butter
• A pinch of cayenne pepper
• 25g (1 oz) mature Cheddar, grated
• 10g (½ oz) Parmesan, finely grated
• A little freshly grated nutmeg

How To Make Delia Smith Chicken and Leek Pie

1. Poach the filling: Pour the cider into a medium saucepan with the carrots, bay leaf, thyme, and some seasoning. Bring to a simmer with the lid on and cook for 5 minutes, then trim and rinse the leeks, chop them into 1 cm pieces, and add them to the pan for another 10 minutes.
2. Make the cheese sauce: Put the milk, flour, butter, and cayenne into a separate pan over a gentle heat and whisk the whole time until you have a smooth glossy sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes, then stir in the Cheddar and Parmesan until melted and season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
3. Build the filling: Drain the chicken and veg, keeping the liquid. Skin the chicken, cut it into bite-sized strips, and fold everything into the cheese sauce. Reduce the reserved cider liquid by half and stir that in too, then tip the filling into a pie dish.
4. Top with pastry: Roll the pastry out thinly on a floured surface, press strips around the dampened rim of the dish first, then lay the lid on top and seal the edges firmly. Trim, cut a steam hole, brush with beaten egg, and scatter with the extra Parmesan.
5. Bake: Put the dish on a baking sheet at 200°C (180°C Fan / Gas Mark 6) for about 20 minutes until the pastry is puffed and deep golden.

How to Get the Pastry Right

The filling needs to be completely cool before the pastry goes on, because steam from a hot filling turns puff pastry soggy before it has a chance to crisp up. I make the filling in the morning and leave it in the dish in the fridge, then roll the pastry on top just before baking.

The Parmesan sprinkled over the egg wash is a small thing that makes a big difference, because it bakes into a savoury, slightly crunchy crust on top of the pastry that you would not get otherwise.

Making It Ahead

Assemble the whole pie the night before, cover with cling film (plastic wrap), and keep in the fridge until you are ready to bake it. Add an extra 5 minutes to the oven time because it starts from cold. The filling keeps for 2 days in the fridge on its own if you want to make the sauce ahead and top it fresh.

I would not freeze this with the pastry already on because puff pastry goes soggy when defrosted. Freeze the filling on its own and add fresh pastry on the day you bake it.

Frequently Asked Questions

You Might Also Like:

• Chicken Cacciatore
• Tarragon Chicken
• Chicken Soup

Nutrition Facts

• Calories: 580 kcal
• Fat: 32g
• Carbohydrates: 34g
• Fibre: 3g
• Protein: 36g

Nutrition estimated per serving based on 2 servings.