iVillage hen Chicken pie comes in many guises, from Chicken Pot Pie in North America to B’stilla in the Middle East: They all feature a single or double crust of golden pastry flaky, shortcrust, filo, scone dough, or puff pastry as here. To save time, buy it ready-rolled if possible, otherwise buy a block and roll it out yourself.

750g boneless chicken thighs and breasts, halved
250ml chicken stock
125ml single cream or creamy milk
6 celery stalks, chopped
2 leeks, cut into 1 cm pieces and well washed
250g new potatoes, halved crossways
4 garlic cloves, chopped
500g cooked gammon or ham, cut into 2.5 cm cubes
50g salted butter
6 tbsp plain flour
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
4 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
salt and freshly ground black pepper
350g ready-rolled puff pastry
1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tbsp milk, for glazing

Put the chicken, stock, cream or milk, celery, leeks, potatoes, garlic and gammon or ham into a large saucepan. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 20-25 minutes or until the chicken is tender.
Pour the pan contents into a colander set over a large heatproof measuring jug: there should be 500ml liquid. Discard any extra or make up the quantity using extra cream or milk.
Clean and dry the pan, add the butter and melt gently over a moderate heat. Stir in the flour until bubbling, but do not let the mixture colour. Add the hot poaching liquid, about a third at a time, heating and stirring well between additions, until the mixture is thick, smooth and velvety. Stir in the nutmeg and parsley, then add salt and pepper to taste. Add the contents of the colander and toss gently in the sauce until well coated. Cool for 10 minutes.
Roll out the pastry to about 5mm thick and at least 5cm bigger than the pie dish. Put the pie dish upside down on the pastry and cut around it, leaving a 3 cm border. Cut a 2cm wide strip of pasty to fit around the edge of the dish. Brush the edge with water and stick the strip on top. Ladle the filling into the dish, piling it up high in the centre.
Wet the pastry strip. Set the pastry lid on top and press into place. If there is any excess. trim it off evenly. Cut a 1cm vent in the centre, then brush glaze over the pastry. Mark decorative patterns in the pastry, if preferred, or leave plain.
Bake towards the top of a preheated oven at 220°C/425°F/gas mark 7 for 25 minutes or until the pastry is puffed, then reduce to 200°C/400°F/ gas mark 6 and cook for a further 15 minutes or until the pastry is crusty and golden. If the pastry browns to quickly, cover it with a folded sheet or wetted baking parchment. Serve hot, straight from the dish.

Source: Chicken from Maryland to Kiev by Clare Ferguson (Ryland, Peters & Small, £16.99)

More chicken recipes from Clare Ferguson:
Spicy Thai Chicken Soup
French Roast Chicken
Chicken Piri-Piri
Tamil Coconut Chilli Chicken
Nigerian Peanut and Chicken Stew

To order your copy of Chicken from Maryland to Kiev by Clare Ferguson for the special price of £13.99 including postage and packing (normal price £16.99), call Macmillan Direct on: 01256 302 699 and quote reference GLR 759

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Clare Ferguson's Chicken pot pie