Preheat oven to 180°C. Place the chopped onion in the bottom of a roasting pan.
Clean and wipe chicken breasts with paper towel and place on top of the onions. Drizzle with some olive oil and season with salt, pepper and thyme.
Squeeze the juice of the lemon over the chicken and place uncovered in the oven for about 40 minutes or until the juices run clear when a knife is inserted in the thickest part of the breast.
Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the oven and remove all bones from the chicken. Keep for stock.
NB. If you have issues with chicken skin, remove, but if your chicken is cooked properly and the skin is nice and crispy, cut it into smaller pieces and add to the chicken. It imparts a lovely flavour to the pie.
Clean and chop the leeks, Use the white parts and about halfway up the green part. Heat a pot on the stove and add the butter and smoked paprika. Once the butter has melted, add the leeks and sauté until soft and buttery.
Add the chopped chicken and the water or pan juices. Add the sour cream and mix the soup powder with a little cold water and stir it into the chicken. The sauce should now be creamy and delicious, but not too runny.
Taste and adjust accordingly. Cool the filling completely.
When the filling is cold, roll out the pastry and make pies in whatever size you wish. One tip though, when lining your baking dish with pastry, brush the pastry with egg wash, it makes almost a barrier between filling and pastry and prevents soggy pastry.
Serve with sweet garden peas and baby carrots and maybe a serving of creamy mash on the side.
Reprinted
with permission of My Easy Cooking. To visit My Easy Cooking’s blog, click here.
