From Ireland to Your Land: Chicken Pie with Leeks, Potatoes, and Mushrooms

All who think the Irish have great food, say, “Aye!”  There seems to be but few responses.  I’m saddened. Ok, let’s give ‘er another try, but first let me tell you I promise a pint of Guinness to every brawny man and pleasing wench who screams, “AYE!”

Now that’s more like it, lads and lassies, or as they say in Gaelic, leaids and beans, which is pronounced lads and bans.

But, you’re finishing off that pint like a wee cuddler of a gull!  Come on!  Finish-er up! Grab another and let’s put this pie on the hearth!

The winter winds are beginning to bluster and wiggle through the cracks in the walls. Drag out the woolens and lay out the gloves and scarfs. Time for a pot full o’ cookin’!

This savory pie is Irish style, but call it what you will, on a chilly winter’s eve, chicken and vegetables in a rich sauce, with a flaky crust is just the thing to calm your ragged nerves, warm your tortured soul, and settle you in for a comfortable night.  Of course, you also need some Guinness.  Why do I even need to bring that up???

Chicken pie with Leeks, Potatoes, and Mushrooms

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed

4 smooth skinned potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 leeks, washed and the tender parts sliced in rounds (not the heavy green leaves)

10-15 small to medium mushrooms, sliced thickly

1 heaping Tablespoon of dried tarragon

2 ½ Cups of milk

4 Tablespoons flour

6-8 Tablespoons butter (Hard to be exact.  Keep more butter handy.)

1 Package Phyllo dough

Salt and Pepper

Heat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC)

Boil the potato cubes in salted water until barely tender, then remove from the pot and set aside.

Add a Tablespoon or two of butter to a large frying pan and toss in the cubed chicken.  If you used unsalted butter, dust the chicken with salt.  Cook only long enough to get the chunks a bit brown.

Add the leeks and mushrooms to the frying pan and cook for three minutes.  Stir in the flour and cook for a minute or two longer. 

At this point, you may be asking, "What the hell is a leek?"  There's a photo below.  Related to the onion, it's much milder and in Europe is often used in soups and stews.

Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly,  then add the potatoes and tarragon, salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for about ten minutes.

Melt some butter in a small saucepan.  Paint the inside of a deep pie dish, line it with two sheets of phyllo dough, buttering in between sheets.  Phyllo tears easily, so if you end up with a patchwork, that’s fine.

Fill the dish with the chicken mixture, then cover with sheets of phyllo, painting with melted butter between each sheet, then paint over the last sheet.  Butter any scraps of phyllo left over and put them randomly over the dish in a haphazard manner.  (see photos)

Slide the chicken pie into the oven and cook for about 45 minutes, but don’t let the crust burn.

Satisfied your Guinness thirst?  Then bring out that bottle of Irish whiskey ya been hidin’ for just such a moment!  Let’s celebrate a great pie from a great land!   ♫ This land is Ireland, this land is your land… ♫