Veal & Leek Pie

There is nothing better than comfort food in the cooler months… and my number one meal that comes under that banner and that will ensure a happy tummy is a homemade pie!

Lucky for me, my newly purchased cook book ‘Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone’ has the yummiest Chicken & Leak Pie which I just had to try for the family!

However, if you’re anything like me, I’m not one to stick to the recipe and usually do a lot of substituting depending on what leftovers need to be eaten.

So here is my version of Curtis’s yummy pie…

Ingredients

• 500g diced veal (yep… you read correctly. Feel free to use chicken though)
• ½ cup rice flour
• olive oil
• sea salt & pepper to taste
• 25g butter
• 1 onion finely diced
• 1 leek finely diced (white & pale green parts only)
• 3 celery sticks finely diced
• 1 cup button mushrooms sliced
• 1 Tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 1½ cups chicken stock
• ¾ cup full cream milk
• ¼ cup cream
• a handful finely chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry thawed

Steps

1. Dust veal with ½ the rice flour & salt & pepper
2. Heat oil in a heavy based saucepan and cook veal on high until meat is sealed and just cooked through (5-10mins)
3. Remove veal from pan and add butter, onion, leak and celery and sauté for 5mins
4. Add mushrooms to pan, along with mustard and remaining rice flour and stir on low heat for a few minutes
5. Slowly stir in chicken stock, milk and cream on low heat and allow sauce to thicken and simmer
6. Add veal and tarragon and season to taste with salt & pepper
7. Set aside to cool and then refrigerate to cool completely
8. Transfer the pie mixture into a 6-cup capacity baking dish
9. Roll out the puff pastry over the baking dish and seal to the edges
10. Cut slits into the pastry to allow steam to escape and bake at 180C for 50mins or until the pastry is golden in colour
11. Serve with a green salad and smile!