The weather is slowly starting to turn. One minute blue skies and sunshine, the next grey skies, rain and wind. I can’t help but love it a little bit. Autumn is my favourite time of year, and it’s just around the corner. When we start ditching the bare legs and grabbing our tights, ditching the salad and reaching for something much more hearty.
So when after Manchester Cider Club I had a little leftover, it put my brain in gear. I’d planned to do something with chicken for tea, something simple with mashed potato. Add in cider, some bacon lardons, and cream cheese, and now we’ve got a proper meal, something to feed us for a couple of nights, rather than just one.
This cider is a bit special, as Seven Trees isn’t available in shops (yet?!), but a good dry cider, one made by an independent cidery is just what you need. If you need a suggestion, drop me a line and I’ll happily recommend some.
This recipe is pretty easy and can either be baked straight away, or put on one side and reheated later (I’ve included the oven temperature and timings for both). In our case, I made it on my lunch hour and my husband put it in the oven ahead of my return from the gym. There are few things more comforting than walking through the door to the smell of dinner in the oven!
Of course, we used cider, but you could swap that out for white wine, or even vermouth, you just want a little acidity to cut through the richness of the cream cheese sauce, and meaty flavours. Oh and whilst we used chicken breast, chicken thigh would be delicious, and it would work incredibly well with leftover roast chicken too!
Chicken and Cider pie
Ingredients
- 600 grams Chicken (breast, thighs, or leftover roast)
- 250 grams Mushrooms
- 1 Medium onion, diced
- 3 Garlic cloves
- 600 grams Potatoes for mashing
- 250 ml Dry cider
- 1 Stock cube or stock pot (chicken or vegetable)
- 50 grams Butter
- 100 ml Milk
- 50 grams Grated Parmesan or other hard cheese
- 200 grams Cream cheese
- 100 grams Bacon lardons
- Seasoning
Instructions
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If you're planning on baking this straight away, get the oven on to preheat - 190C/170C Fan/Gas Mark 5.
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Pop a large frying pan on a medium heat and add the bacon lardons. Let them cook, until crispy.
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While the bacon cooks, get the potatoes on in some well salted water to boil.
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Add the onions, and cook until they're translucent. Then add the mushroms and garlic, cooking through until the mushrooms are nice and soft.
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Finally add the chicken. If it's leftover roast chicken, just warm it through. If it's raw chicken, cook it through.
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Add the cider, using the liquid to scrape off all the browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
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Crumble in the stock cube/pot, stirring until it's dissolved.
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Finally, add the cream cheese. Stir until it's thoroughly combined and check the seasoning. I'd add lots of pepper here, cream cheese and pepper are the best of friends.
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Put the contents of the pan into a large pie dish.
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While all this has been going on, your potatoes will be done. So turn them off, drain them and mash them with the butter and milk. Season and taste.
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Now to assemble! Top the pie filling with the mashed potato. I find working from the outside in works best. Then sprinkle over the cheese.
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Finally pop in the oven for 20-25 minutes, just until the top is browned and the sauce is bubbling at the sides. If not baking straight away, it'll take more like 45-60 minutes to reach this stage.
