Creamy Leek and Chicken Hand Pies #FridayPieDay

Leeks sautéed in butter are the perfect start to a creamy béchamel sauce which is folded around tender chicken then baked in puff pastry till flakey and crunchy. These handy chicken pies are perfect for lunch boxes or a special brunch or dinner at home. 

Leeks are the milder cousin of the onion, not so sharp but still with a lovely oniony flavor. They soften beautifully when sautéed in butter and almost melt into a white sauce. They are a beautiful match for chicken in a pot pie or really, any dish but today, for Friday Pie Day, I created these hand pies with my favorite chicken pot pie in mind.

Ingredients
2 cooked chicken breasts, bones removed  - about 9 1/2 oz or 270g total
1 long leek - about 6 oz or 172g whole, 4 oz or 113g after the hard green bit is trimmed
1 red chili pepper
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup or 120ml whole milk
11 2/3 oz or 330g puff pastry
1 egg

Method
Cut the hard green part off of your leeks and trim the roots. Split the white part in half. Wash well, making sure to clean any dirt that might be hiding in the root end. Slice the clean leek into small pieces and cube the cooked chicken.

Mince the red chili pepper then sauté it with the leek in the butter until softened, add a healthy pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Sprinkle on the flour and stir to combine it with the softened leeks and butter. Cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently.

Remove the pan from the heat briefly and add in the milk.

Stir vigorously until you have a thin sauce. Put the pan back on the stove over a medium heat and cook until the sauce begins to thicken and a spoon dragged through leaves a gap that fills up again slowly.

Add in the chicken and stir to coat. Cook for a few minutes more, until the sauce is very thick. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C and prepare a cookie sheet by lining it with baking parchment or a silicone mat.

Cut your puff pastry dough into four equal pieces and roll one out until it is about 7in or 28cm square.

Whisk your egg with a fork and brush a little bit all around the pastry square with a pastry brush.

Divide the cooled chicken leek mixture into four equal portions and put one on the pastry square.

Fold the pastry over to form a triangle and press the air out as you seal the sides by pressing down all around the edges. Brush more egg around the edges of the pastry triangle.

Start folding the pastry over again, to double seal the edges.

Place the triangle on your lined cookie sheet and repeat the process until you have four hand pies ready to bake. Brush them all with the beaten egg.

Bake in your preheated oven about 20-25 minutes or until the hand pies are puffed and golden.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least a few minutes before serving. You do not want to burn your mouth with the hot filling.

Enjoy!

Now after you have these for your main course, may I suggest finishing off the meal with Triple Cherry Pie  from my friend and creator of Friday Pie Day, Heather, over at All Roads Lead to the Kitchen?

I am pleased to join her on the last Friday of each month for pie and crust recipes, techniques, tools of the trade, and other inspiration.

For more information and recipes, please check out her #FridayPieDay page!

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Prawn and Curry Leaf Muffins #MuffinMonday

Aromatic curry leaves, fried till crispy in butter, perfectly complement the butter-fried prawns in these delicious savory muffins. 

I have an editorial calendar where I keep track of upcoming blog posts and what I am planning to cook or bake for different group themes. I penciled in Muffin Monday on the 22nd of February and started thinking about what to bake. If you’ve been reading along here for a while, you know that the new Muffin Monday doesn’t have a theme or prescribed ingredients. We are free and easy on the last Monday of each month. But then I discovered that this was a leap year so the last Monday of the month is actually February 29th. How did I get all the way to the middle of February and just find that out? Seems like it would have come up at some point in December or January at least, right?

Soooooo, I had an idea: A leap of faith muffin. We’d each use an unusual ingredient, one we’ve never used before, at least not in a muffin. I proposed it to the group and, good sports that they are, they all agreed. Make sure you scroll down and check out the link list of muffins. Some of them may look normal to you, but I can assure you that the Muffin Monday bakers have stretched themselves this month!

One of my favorite dishes when we lived in Malaysia was something called Butter Prawns. I’ve only made them myself once because they are a bit of a faff but, dear me, they are divine! Crispy curry leaves, crispy prawns and lots of bits of buttery crumbs. I didn’t do the crumbly part for these muffins but all the butter, curry leaves and prawns still gave me the right flavor I was looking for.

My one attempt at butter prawns

Ingredients
10 medium-sized prawns or shrimp, already cleaned and shelled (Mine weighed 5oz or 140g.)
1/2 cup or 115g unsalted butter
Generous handful fresh curry leaves
2 1/2 cups or 315g flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Black pepper
1 cup or 240ml milk
2 eggs

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 12-cup muffin pan by generously greasing with butter, oil or non-stick spray.

Chop the prawns into three or four pieces and put them in a bowl handy to your stove or cooktop.

Melt two tablespoons of the butter in a small frying pan and then fry the curry leaves briefly.

Remove them quickly with a slotted spoon when they get crispy and are just starting to brown.

Lower the fire and tip the prawns into the browning butter you've left behind.

Cook them till just pink. Remove the whole pan from the heat, add in the rest of the butter and set aside so the additional butter can melt and the prawns can cool.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt together in a large mixing bowl with a few generous grinds of fresh black pepper.

In another bowl, whisk together the milk and eggs.  Once the prawns are cool enough not to cook the eggs, add them along with the melted butter and stir well.

Add all the milk/egg/prawn mixture to flour bowl.

Gently fold a few turns then add in the crispy curry leaves. Continue folding just until the dry ingredients are moistened.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups in your prepared pan.

Bake in your preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until muffins are golden.

Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before removing muffins from tin.

Enjoy!

Take a leap of faith with us this month – Bake some muffins! Many thanks to all the Muffin Monday bakers for playing along.

• Berry Mango Swirl Muffins from Farm Fresh Feasts
• Brown Sugar, Pistachio and Garam Masala Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Carrot Muffins from Kelli's Kitchen
• Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins with Cardamom Browned Butter from The Spiced Life
• Marmite Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Prawn and Curry Leaf Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Rosewater Banana White Chocolate Muffins from Making Miracles
• Spinach, Bacon and Cheese Breakfast Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

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Cauliflower Cheese Pie with Grated Potato Crust

A crispy potato crust is filled with all the comfort food goodness of cauliflower and cheese, making this the perfect pie for a still chilly February evening. Or anytime really.

When I was growing up, one of my favorite ways to eat cooked cauliflower was with a side of mayonnaise in which to dip it. I got some funny looks outside my home, where mayo and cauliflower was normal, a given. I thought everyone ate it that way. That winning combo was rivaled on my plate only by cauliflower with cheese sauce. I remember one special family occasion – not sure if it was Christmas or Thanksgiving or possibly even Easter – but there was a platter of cauliflower and broccoli arranged most artistically by my youngest aunt, all smothered in thick cheese sauce. I could have eaten the whole thing by myself but had to share. More’s the pity.

I discovered as I began to travel and learn about other cultures and traditional recipes that the British make a dish called cauliflower cheese for special occasions as well. The cauliflower is steamed or boiled whole then drained. A cheese sauce is created by making a béchamel or white sauce to which sharp cheddar is added, perhaps with a little dried mustard powder. This is poured over the whole cauliflower, some breadcrumbs are often sprinkled on top and then the whole thing is baked until golden brown and bubbling. Heaven, I tell you! It's one of my husband's favorite dishes so it's on regular rotation at our house.

Which brings me to today’s cauliflower cheese pie. It combines my love of cauliflower and cheese, with his baked British favorite and bonus, puts it all in a crunchy potato crust. Hope you love it as much as we do.

Make sure to scroll down to the bottom where my Sunday Supper friends are sharing All The Pies, sweet and savory, with many thanks to our host today, Erica of The Crumby Cupcake.

This recipe is adapted from "Moosewood Cookbook" by Mollie Katzen.

Ingredients
For the crust:
Drizzle olive oil for greasing 9in or 23cm pie plate and brushing crust during baking
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1lb 10oz or 740g potatoes
1 small onion (2 1/3 oz or 65g)
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the filling:
1 medium-sized cauliflower (Mine weighed about 2lbs 3oz or 980g.)
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion (about 3 oz or 85g)
3 cloves garlic
1 hot chili pepper - optional but recommended
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Several sprigs fresh thyme
1 1/4 cup (packed) or 100g cheddar cheese
2 large eggs
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Paprika or cayenne for the top

Method
Preheat the oven to 400°F 200°C. Grease a 9in or 23cm pie plate with a drizzle of olive oil.

Grate the cheese and set it aside. (I used my food processor but you can do it by hand, of course.)

Whisk your egg white with the salt and a good few grinds of fresh black pepper. Peel and grate your potatoes. (Once again, I used the food processor.) Squeeze the liquid out and stir the grated potatoes into the egg white immediately to stop them from discoloring.

Grate your onion and add it to the potato mixture, stirring well to combine.

Pour the grated potato mixture into the prepared pie plate and use your fingers to pat it down evenly to make a crust. It's going to seem quite wet, despite your squeezing the liquid out of the potatoes but don't worry. The moisture bakes away and the crust does get crunchy in the hot oven.

Bake the crust for 30 minutes in your preheated oven, then brush just up to the brown edge with a little olive oil (about 1 teaspoon) and bake for 10 more minutes.

Remove the crust from the oven and turn the temperature down to 375°F or 190°C.

While the crust is in the oven, you can get on with the filling. Remove the leaves and hard stem from the head of cauliflower and cut the florets into bite-sized pieces.

Chop your onion, mince the garlic and pepper and strip the leaves off of the fresh thyme sprigs. Save one sprig for garnish, if desired.

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Add the onion, garlic, chili pepper, salt and thyme with a few good grinds of fresh black pepper, and sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes.

Add the cauliflower, stir, and cover. Cook until tender, stirring occasionally - about 8 to 10 minutes.

When the baked crust is ready, sprinkle half the grated cheese onto it.

Spoon the sautéed vegetables on top, then top with the remaining cheese.

Beat the eggs, egg yolk, milk and cornstarch together making sure the cornstarch has dissolved and pour this over the top.

Dust lightly with paprika or cayenne.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until set. If you feel the edges are getting too brown before the pie is cooked through, cover them with some foil.

Serve hot or warm.

Enjoy!

I've got a bunch of pies I'm sure you'll love here:
Elle's Fresh Blueberry Pie
Sausage Apple Onion Tart
Brown Sugar Nectarine Tart
and these special Portuguese custard tarts, baked in honor of our Sunday Supper leader, Isabel, just to name a few.

But make sure you don't miss this fabulous link list to the #SundaySupper Pies: Sweet & Savory!

Sweet As Pie

• Apple Browned Butter Tart by The Chef Next Door
• Banana Cream Pie from Recipes Food and Cooking
• Blood Orange Pie from The TipToe Fairy
• Brown Sugar Pie from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Cherry Chocolate Brownie Pie from Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Chocolate Macadamia Nut Tart from Desserts Required
• Chocolate Pudding Pie from The Bitter Side of Sweet
• Coconut Cream Pie from Family Foodie
• Easy Lemon Pie from Basic N Delicious
• Fresh Lemon Hand Pies from From Gate to Plate
• German Sweet Chocolate Cream Pie from Meal Planning Magic
• Gluten-Free Chocolate Cherry Pie from NinjaBaker
• Gluten Free Mini Irish Cream Chocolate Mousse Pies from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Grapefruit Pie from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Homemade Oatmeal Creme Pies from Pies and Plots
• Irish Cream Coffee Mud Pie from The Crumby Cupcake
• Leaf Topped Apple Pie from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Magic Cookie Bar Pie from Moore or Less Cooking
• Mixed Berry Hand Pies from My Imperfect Kitchen
• No Bake Blueberry Cheesecake Pie from Feeding Big and More
• No Bake Blueberry Mini Filo-Pies from Hardly A Goddess
• No-Bake Mixed Berry Cream Cheese Tart from Magnolia Days
• Orange Meringue Pie from Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Paifala (Samoan Pineapple Half Moon Pies) from Tara’s Multicultural Table
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pie from Sweet Mornings
• Perfect Manhattan Pie from The Texan New Yorker
• Pineapple Meringue Pie from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Quick Swiss Apple Pie from Confessions of a Cooking Diva
• Raspberry Cheesecake Pudding Pie from Flour On My Face
• Strawberry Mascarpone Tart from Taste And See

Mealtime Pie

• Beef & Red Wine Pie from Wholistic Woman
• Cauliflower Cheese Pie with Grated Potato Crust from Food Lust People Love
• Chard and Parsnip Galette from Caroline’s Cooking
• Chicken Tamale Pie from Rants from my Crazy Kitchen
• Cornish Pasties from Palatable Pastime
• Homity Pie (British Potato Leek Pie) from Curious Cuisiniere
• Italian Cheesy Artichoke and Asparagus Phyllo Pie from La Bella Vita Cucina
• Italian Hand Pies from Brunch-n-Bites
• Irish Shepherd's Pie from The Freshman Cook
• Jamaican “No-Beef” Patties from What Smells So Good?
• Mini Swiss Quiches from Family Around The Table
• Mushroom Swiss Quiche from Renee’s Kitchen Adventures
• Pizza Rustica from Monica’s Table
• Salmon Pot Pie from Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
• Savory and Spicy Mincemeat Pie from eating in instead
• Shepherd’s Pie Hand Pies from Our Good Life
• Skillet Shepherd’s Pie from Life Tastes Good
• Spaghetti Pie from Grumpy’s Honeybunch
• Spicy Korean Cottage Pie from kimchi MOM
• Taco Hand Pies from Kitchen Gidget
• Weeknight Chicken Pot Pie from Books n' Cooks

• Plus: Baked Puerto Rican Meat Pies and More Pie Recipes from Sunday Supper Movement

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Gouda Herb Muffins for Derkje #MuffinMonday

Loads of cheese, fresh herbs and a bit of spicy cayenne pepper make these savory muffins rich and flavorful. 

Every Monday I get together with a lovely group of ladies for Bible study. We come from many countries and varied backgrounds but we enjoy our time together trying to learn whatever God wants us to learn, whether from the Bible or each other.  And, with such a diverse group, as you can imagine, there is so much we can learn from one another. The last couple of weeks we’ve been joined by someone special, the mother of one of our little group, who has been visiting since the holidays. As you might have guessed from my title, her name is Derkje.

As I left our meeting last week, she leaned over and almost whispered, “Do you have a recipe for a savory muffin? Perhaps with cheese?”  Well, I have plenty! But most of them make 12 muffins and our dear Derkje recently lost her husband, love of her life and best friend of more than 60 years. Even though they freeze well, 12 muffins is an overwhelming number and I didn’t want to discourage her from the outset with a large batch she’d never end up baking. So I worked out a recipe for just six, baked them up, and passed them over with the printed notes. I wanted to use a cheese that was readily available where Derkje lives in the Netherlands so I made them with Gouda, but you can substitute any aged cheese you have. A nice cheddar would work just as well.

At today’s meeting, I told her that I’d be sharing the recipe with the rest of you for Muffin Monday but, not to worry, I wouldn’t use her name. Derkje replied that she would be delighted if I would. It’s a name that was given to her by her father and she is very proud of it. Isn’t that lovely? She heads home tomorrow and we are going to miss her lively contribution to our group.

Ingredients
8 1/2 oz or 240g Gouda cheese
Small handful mixed fresh herbs of your choice (green onions, thyme, basil, parsley, coriander, rosemary, etc.)
1 cup or 125g flour (or 125g + 1 tablespoon self-rising flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (Omit if using self-rising flour.)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder (Derkje says use more! And I agree!)
1/2 cup or 120ml milk
1 egg
1/4 cup or 60ml canola or other light oil

Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and generously grease your 6-cup muffin pan.  I would suggest putting the batter into a greased tin rather than muffin cups because the cheese in these makes them bake up lovely and browned and crunchy all over.  You’d miss that in a paper cup. I used non-stick cooking spray but you can use butter or a little more oil.

Grate your cheese, setting aside a generous handful for adding to the top before baking.

Pull the leaves off of any herbs with woody stems, then mince your herbs, saving a few tiny sprigs or leaves for decoration, if desired.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients, including the cayenne pepper.

Then stir in the big pile of Gouda, making sure all the bits are well coated with flour. Add in herbs and mix well.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, milk, and oil together.

Pour milk mixture into dry ingredients and fold until it is just combined.

Spoon the batter into your very well greased muffin pan.

Top with the reserved cheese and decorate with a herby leaf or two.

Bake in your preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until they are looking browned and crispy and delicious and you can’t wait another second to eat them.

BUT, allow the muffins to cool for a few minutes then use a non-pointy knife to loosen/remove them from the muffin pan.

Enjoy!

Check out all the other great recipes my Muffin Monday bakers are sharing today!

• Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Chocolate Chip Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Cinnamon Pear Muffins from Making Miracles
• Coconut Lime Mango Muffins from The Spiced Life
• Glazed Orange Poppyseed Muffins from Farm Fresh Feasts
• Gouda Herb Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Nutmeg Banana Muffins from Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Orange Muffins from Passion Kneaded

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.


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