Cheese Chicken Corn and Spinach Pie
A comforting chicken pie loaded with corn, spinach and melty cheese under a golden puff pastry lid, sealed with a sesame-scattered top.
Serves: 4-6
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 40 minutes
INGREDIENTS
4 chicken breasts, brought to room temperature
salt, for seasoning
olive oil, for seasoning
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 leek, chopped and rinsed
1 onion, sliced
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 ear of corn, kernels removed
1 bag chopped frozen spinach
1 can creamed corn
2 tbsp flour
1 tub sour cream or crème fraîche
150-200g cheese (mozzarella or tasty), cubed
2 tbsp freshly chopped chives
puff pastry, enough to cover the pie filling with excess for crimping
1 egg yolk mixed with water, for brushing
sesame seeds, for sprinkling
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Oil and season the chicken breasts with salt. Preheat a large oven-safe frying pan over high heat.
Once hot, brown the chicken on one side for 3-4 minutes. Flip, turn off the heat, and transfer the pan to the oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cooked through. Remove, cover with foil and set aside.
In the same pan, sauté the leek and onion with the butter and olive oil over low heat, covered, for about 10 minutes until soft and juicy.
Add the garlic and corn kernels. Sauté until fragrant, then add the frozen spinach and creamed corn. Stir until combined and heated through.
Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir well. Add the sour cream or crème fraîche, stirring until the mixture thickens.
Slice or shred the cooked chicken and add it to the pan along with the cubed cheese and chives. Combine well and allow to cool slightly.
Place the puff pastry over the cooled filling, leaving excess to crimp around the edges. Score the pastry to let steam escape and mark where to cut wedges.
Brush the pastry with the egg yolk wash, then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake until the filling is bubbling and the pastry is golden and crispy, about 20-25 minutes.
Allow to cool slightly before serving. Cut into wedges.
HINTS
Browning the chicken before it goes into the pie builds a deeper flavour into the finished filling.
Use an oven-safe pan so you can move straight from stovetop to oven without dirtying another dish.
Let the filling cool slightly before the pastry goes on - a warm filling steams the base and stops the top going crisp.
NUTRITION (per recipe total, serves 4-6 - guide only):
Energy: 13800 kJ (3300 cal)
Protein: 205 g
Fat: 195 g
Saturated fat: 90 g
Carbohydrate: 155 g
Sugars: 30 g
Sodium: 4600 mg
This nutrition information is a guide only and may vary depending on brands, exact quantities, and ingredient substitutions used.