(Serves 6-8)

Very good accompanied with mashed potatoes.

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 150°C. Place diced chicken in a casserole.

• In a frying pan, melt a little butter and sautè the onion and garlic, over a medium heat, until it is lightly browned. Transfer onion and garlic to casserole dish.

• Melt a little more butter in the pan and add bacon. Cook until lightly browned. Transfer bacon to the casserole dish. Sautè mushrooms until soft (adding more butter as necessary) and add to casserole.

• De-glaze the frying pan with red wine and reduce wine by 2/3. Add wine to casserole.

• Melt 60g of butter in a small saucepan. Add flour and cook for 2-3 minutes without colouring. Lower temperature and slowly add stock, stirring as you add. Bring sauce to the boil and add to the chicken mixture, along with the herbs. Stir to combine.

• Cover casserole and bake for 35-45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Pour chicken mixture into the pie dish you will be using and cool as quickly as possible.

• Roll out pastry to 2mm thick. Cut out a piece of pastry slightly larger than the pie dish and drape pastry over the chicken mixture.

• Whisk the egg white until it falls freely from a fork. Brush the edge of the pie pastry with egg white.

• Insert a pie funnel into the pie.

• Cut the remaining pastry into 2cm thick strips and place a frill around the edge of the pie. Decorate the pie with leaves cut from the pastry off cuts. Rest pie for at least 30 minutes in the fridge. Preheat oven to 200ºC.

• Whisk together the egg yolk and water and brush the pie with the glaze. Cut 3 slits in each end of the pie and bake for 30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown.

• Coq au Vin Pie can be served immediately or reheated.