Flaky, buttery, and delicious, this Chicken Mushroom Rustic Pie won’t leave you indifferent.
Proud Ben
Indeed, I’m super agitated today, guys. There are just a bunch of very good reasons for being in such a good mood.
Firstly, I don’t often share the recipes for savory pies and tarts. Practically, I’ve posted only the recipes for Turkish pide and these Karjalanpiirakka – Karelian Pies.
Definitely, I’ve made some pizzas as well, but it doesn’t count. In by book, savory pies are the best. If you ask me, why haven’t I posted more savory pies then, well, they didn’t survive. In other words, they didn’t make to a photo shoot stage.
Secondly, it’s probably one the most complicated recipes I’ve posted so far. Still, please don’t be scared of it. While making dough requires a lot of time, it’s not that tedious. The active cooking time isn’t so long. Mostly it’s about waiting. I hope you’re patient enough.
Lastly, this was my first puff pastry I made from scratch. Who’s the hero here? Ben! As I’ve just said, although making puff pastry might sound complicated, it’s not in fact. The most critical part of making puff pastry is its chilling. We don’t want the butter to melt so the dough has to be refrigerated after each set of folding which are called turns.
Chicken Mushroom Rustic Pie
Each turn means that you’ve got to roll the dough out, fold it, flip it, and fold again. And as you already know, chill it for about 30 minutes in between these sets. Puff pastry requires 6 turns (but 2 turns go together) plus the resting time in the fridge. Nothing complicated – just a little of your patience:) As the matter of fact, I think I made one extra turn by mistake, but I don’t think it badly affected this Chicken Mushroom Rustic Pie.
What’s definitely true about this pastry, that it is not the skinniest one. One pound of butter! That’s correct. But the cold butter makes the trick here resulting in a rich and flaky crust. However, keep in mind that it is not the same as that airy and fluffy pastry puff you can use for cakes and other desserts. Thus, don’t attempt a Napoleon cake with it:)
I opted for a classic combo of chicken, mushrooms, and lots herbs. Also, I added some green peas, mostly to add up some color. You can incorporate other veggies like carrots (In my case, when I asked Andrey what he thought about carrots in the pie, he looked at me and strictly proclaimed, “Carrots? In MY cake?” I was kind of confused at which point the pie become entirely his, but I didn’t argue. Besides, I’m not a huge fan of carrots in meat pies either.) Smoked paprika, fresh thyme, and herbs de Provence make the difference here too. Mmmmm, do you feel the way it smells?
You would probably say the pie didn’t turn out impeccable. Agree. On another hand, it’s a rustic pie. Rustic food doesn’t need to look perfect. Moreover, it would be a crime in the world of rustic pies:) However, the top of it could have had a lighter color. We just wanted a little bit more of tan, and that last minute was obviously excessive. Also, I think the filling could have been moister, but I was afraid the crust would be soggy. I fully encourage you to use a little of stock or wine while making the filling.
What can I say to wrap it up? I’ve never been to France. And I’ve never tried an authentic meat pie. But I’m telling you, this Chicken Mushroom Rustic Pie made us feel like being in Provence.
Notes
havocinthekitchen.com
Ingredients
Puff Pastry
- 450 gr. cold unsalted butter
- about 4 cups (about 500 gr.) all-purpose flour + more, for dusting
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup cold water
- 1 whole egg (for egg wash)
Chicken Filing
- 4 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1 large onion, finely sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 2 large chicken breasts (200 gr. each), cubed
- 2/3 cup frozen green peas
- 1 tbsp. fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp dried herbs de Provence
- 1 tbsp. smoked paprika
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Making the Dough
- Melt 50 gr. of the butter keeping the remaining cold.
- Sift the flour with the salt onto your work surface, in a pile.
- Make a well on top of the mixture and add the butter and a part of the cold water.
- Start combining the ingredients in the dough adding the remaining water.
- Dusting with more flour as needed, form the dough
- Shape the dough into a square and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate for 30-40 minutes.
Wrapping the Butter
- Chop the cold butter into medium pieces.
- Unwrap the chilled dough and roll out to a square shape.
- Place the butter on the dough leaving the edges (about 2 cm) uncovered.
- Fold the corners of the dough so they meet in the middle (like an envelope). Pinch to seal.
First Turn
- Flip the dough on the floured surface so the seams are down.
- Roll it out in a rectangle. Fold the top and bottom like a letter.
Second Turn
- Rotate the dough so the seams are either from left or right side.
- Roll it out into a rectangle (Important! It's important to roll in one direction).
- Fold it again.
- Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Third and Fourth Turns
- Remove the dough from the fridge and repeat the steps as described in the First&Second Turns.
- By the end of this turn the dough should be more elastic.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes
Fifth and Sixth Turns
- Repeat rolling and folding for the last turns. In total, you should have 6 turns.
- Chill the dough for an hour.
Filling
- In a meanwhile, in a large pan melt 2 tablespoons of butter and cook the onions and garlic for a few minutes, until soft.
- Add the mushrooms and cook for 7-10 minutes over medium heat.
- Increase the heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook 3 minutes over high heat, until no longer pink.
- Decrease heat to medium. Stir in the thyme, dried herbs, and seasonings. Cover and cook for about 7 minutes.
- When it's ready, add 2 tablespoons of butter and the green peas. Cook for a minute just until the peas are warm, Off heat. Completely cool before assembling.
Assembling and Baking
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees C (400 degrees F).
- It's convenient to use a large round lock pan (appr. 24x6.5cm)
- Roll out the dough into a round which would be larger than the diameter of the baking pan (with its edges).
- Transfer the dough into the baking pan and gently press it leaving the edges (see the picture)
- Spread the filling.
- Roll out the top part of the dough and place over the baking pan.
- Seal the edges. Using the scissors, remove the excessive dough.
- In a little cup whisk the whole egg with a tablespoon of cold water. Brush the top of the pie with this egg wash.
- Using a knife, make a little cut in the mid of the pie to release the hot air.
- Bake the pie in the preheated to 200 degrees C oven.
- Then decrease the heat to about 175-180 degrees C and bake the pie for about 30-40 minutes or until the crust is dry, crisp, and golden-brown.
- Remove from the oven and let stand 10-15 minutes before serving.
- Enjoy!
Hi – I’m Ben, a blogger, recipe developer, and food photographer. I’m glad you’re here! I hope you will enjoy hundreds of delicious recipes and a pinch of havoc in the kitchen.
My husband loves meat pies of all kinds, and I’m confident this one would get him very excited! Your images are also just gorgeous!
Thank you very much, Katherine!
Ben Maclain|Havocinthekitchen recently posted…Chicken Mushroom Barley Stuffed Peppers
Ben, Ben, Ben, you are a true hero! making puff pastry is hard and it takes patiences, and this pie or as the Trench would refer to it “Tourte” is perfect! just perfect! I can just imagine all the flavors and that crust looks so flaky! yum yum! When did Andrey was made king of this pie?? Did he liked it? He made me laugh “Carrots? In MY cake?”!! Too funny!
Gaila recently posted…Moules gratinées – mussels au gratin
Thank you Gaila – I really am pleased! Sure, Andrey did like the pie.
Wow! You made the real deal puff pastry? I’m impressed! I made croissant dough one time (a long time ago) and it was similar in that it needed a ton of rolling and folding. But it was so tasty! This post totally inspires me to go make that again. I used the dough to make ham + cheese croissants, and they were so tasty! There’s a “cheater” recipe for puff pastry out there (called blitz puff pastry), but I’ve yet to try it out. Either way, this filling sounds amazing, too! I love the use of fresh thyme combined with the mushrooms + chicken. This sounds like the perfect slice of comfort food! Did you save me a slice? I know you did, right?
David @ Spiced recently posted…Masala Hummus Toast
Thank you, David. Yes, I saved you a huge slice. However, I forgot to inform Andrey, and he finished this slice, I really am sorry.
Ben Maclain|Havocinthekitchen recently posted…Chicken Mushroom Barley Stuffed Peppers