Chicken & leek pie

4 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity	Measure	Ingredient
6	ounces	Shortcrust pastry
		Chicken, about 4 lb*
4	xes	Slices ham steak
4	xes	Large leeks, cleaned/chopped
		Med. onion
		Salt and pepper
1	pinch	Ground mace or nutmeg
300	millilitres	Chicken stock
125	millilitres	Double cream

Directions

*Jointed, chopped and boned. . Make the pastry and leave it in a cold place to rest. Meanwhile prepare the pie. IN a deep 1 - 1½ quart dish, place layers of the chicken, the ham, leeks and onion or shallot, adding the mace, nutmeg and seasoning, then repeating the layers until the dish is full. Add the stock, then dampen the edges of the dish before rolling out the pastry to the required size. Place the pastry over the pie and press the edges down well. Crimp them with a fork. Make a small hole in the center. Roll out the scraps of pastry and form a leaf or rosette for the top. Place this very lightly over the small hole. Brush the pastry with milk, and bake at moderate heat, 350F, for 25-30 minutes. Cover the pastry with damp greaseproof paper when partially cooked if the top seems to be getting too brown. Gently heat the cream. When pie is cooked, remove from oven. Carefully lift off the rosette and pour the cream in through the hole. Put back the rosette and serve. (This pie forms a delicious soft jelly when cold.)