Look at this beast! I could eat the page. Way to go, Joe!
Chicken pie is such a hearty and comforting food. It is also usually a high calorie and high fat food. I can’t remember the last time I had chicken pie, so when I saw this in Joe Wicks Lean In 15, I had to make it.
The book doesn’t show any macros or nutrient facts, but I assumed as the recipe calls for double cream it would be quite high. I was so, so wrong. I entered the ingredients into MyFitnessPal and was so surprised when it came out to 377 calories per serving! Praise the chicken pie gods!
Now the book is formed around 15 minute meals and workouts to help keep you lean. This recipe breaks the 15 minute rule and took me more
around 40 minutes. I forgive you Joe because this chicken pie calls for double cream. DOUBLE CREAM. It could take 3 hours to make if it means I can ingest double cream guilt free.
Seriously, just put this in a bowl and give me a spoon. I nearly ate this straight from the pan.
Lets get cookin! The recipe calls for the following ingredients:
2 large knobs of butter
1 large leek, chopped into 2cm pieces
200g mushrooms, roughly chopped
4 x 250g chicken breast fillets, cut into bite-sized chunks
250ml chicken stock
1 tbsp cornflour
100ml double cream
2 large handfuls of baby spinach leaves
6 sheets of filo pastry
drizzle of olive oil
First step is to fry the leek and mushrooms on medium heat for a few minutes until soft. I still can’t bring myself to use butter in frying. Call me paranoid but I just can’t do it. I used frylight and it worked just fine! I also used chestnut mushrooms so the pieces stayed nice and chunky. Once the veg has softened, turn up the heat to high and add in the chicken.
Double cream! DOUBLE CREAM!
Okay, I cheated here. I used precooked frozen chicken breast pieces, shoot me. They’re already in bite-sized pieces and I hate touching raw chicken, with a passion. Cook the chicken for a few minutes with the leek and mushroom and add in the chicken stock. I used Kallo organic low sodium chicken stock cubes. These babies are packed full of flavour and hardly any salt! Seriously, the smell coming from the pan was amazing. I could have eaten it then and there. No Tiffany, control yourself.
So… creamy… please look at this and tell me eating healthy is boring.
While all that comes up to a simmer, I mixed up the cornflour with some water and added that with the double cream to the chicken mixture. At this point I added in a bit of black pepper, garlic powder and thyme. Let the mixture cook until the sauce is thickened. Next you grab two big handfuls of baby spinach leaves and fold into the chicken mixture. When everything is mixed together, pour it into a baking dish.
As I was pouring this into the baking dish, my mother-in-law came in and was gawking at the mixture. She was talking to my husband on the phone who I swear could smell the mixture because he was already complaining it wouldn’t be finished when he got home. Yes yes, I get the point mister, it’s going in the oven.
Beautifully crispy and golden brown, it seemed almost a shame to dig my spoon in.
Now that the mixture was in the baking dish, I crumbled and tore up 6 sheets of filo pastry and sprinkled it across the top of the mixture. I forgot how delicate and soft filo pastry was, which only made me hungrier thinking of how crispy it was going to get in the oven. The pie went into the oven for 20 minutes at 170c.
The pie came out crispy as ever with just enough sauce. Nothing is worse than a pie swimming in liquid. I think this depends on how thick you let the sauce get in the pan. I let mine get quite thick and to be honest, I thought it may be too thick when I added in the spinach. It was perfect though, it wasn’t swimming but still had plenty of liquid.
I served the pie with fresh garden peas, nothing more. I didn’t want to take away from the pie itself. I don’t think my mother-in-law, husband or myself said a word while we ate it. The cat was even enjoying the sauce left on the plates. I can honestly say hands down this was the best chicken pie I have ever eaten. The flavour was incredible and it was beyond creamy. Again, thank the chicken pie gods.
You need to go make this pie, go make it now. No, I don’t care if you’ve eaten already. GO MAKE THIS PIE. Seriously.
The post Lean In 15: Joe’s Chicken Pie appeared first on Weights and Whiskers - Healthy recipes and weight loss stories.