Wednesday 25 February 2009

Chicken and Leek Cottage Pie



Here we bring together two cultures: the comforting nature of British food, based on its cottage pie idea but combining it with Mediterranean style which gives it an extra twist.

Ingredients

For the filling:
2 pieces of chicken breast, diced
1 leek, finely chopped
Mushrooms, finely chopped
Garlic, finely chopped
Olive oil
Oregano
Salt & pepper

For the mash:
Potatoes (obviously)
Milk
Olive oil
Salt & pepper

Lightly fry the garlic and then add the chicken and leek. Sautee until the chicken is cooked (you can add a drop of white wine) and then add the mushrooms, oregano (don't be shy with it, we want a very oregano-ey flavour here) and seasoning. When the mushrooms are cooked, take it off the fire. Put your filling in a medium tray. In the meantime...

Boil the potatoes (if they're chopped it takes less time). Drain them and put them in a bowl. Add milk and mash. When you have a nice, creamy texture, add some olive oil (for flavour) and seasoning. Spread the mash evenly over the filling, making sure that it completely covers it, coming up to the edge of the tray. Stick it in the oven for about 30 minutes (until the top is nicely golden brown), take it out and serve. Lovely.

11 comments:

Biluś said...

It does sound nice, even to veggie-me! I might just try it, sans poulet, natch :-)

Blackbeard said...

Yes, I see no reason why you couldn't put whatever veg you fancied under the mash...some fetta cheese in there with courgettes...

vette e valli said...

if you like aubergine, they're very good meat substitute for texture - also beans of course (and lentils)! Yummy scrummy, I am hungry now ...

Blackbeard said...

Indeed, yummy....the Staff House once had a lentil mousaka, it was vile...good thought, bad execution

vette e valli said...

it was a good thought, shame it didn't work! have you tried adding pesto and parmesan to your mash? ... sooo good!

Biluś said...

Right, that's it - I'm making this at the weekend!

Blackbeard said...

pesto and parmesan...now I'm hungry...in fact I have done it with grated halloumi at the top. It becomes nice and crispy.

vette e valli said...

I must try this. does halloumi go stringy when hot, like mozzarella does?

tankgirl said...

well I have my first try at this delicious sounding dish in the oven - can't wait to taste it. I'll let you know how it is :O)

tankgirl said...

Mmmm - t'was lovely! Went down very well with him indoors. Had it with broccoli and cheese sauce which stopped it being a bit dry. Gonna do it again next week and put a layer of feta between the chicken and the mash and will use a little more wine.

Blackbeard said...

yummy, happy you liked it, it's the sort of recipe you can fiddle with as much as you want really.