Seared Thigh, Mushroom and White Wine Chicken Pot Pie

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200 °C. Pat the chicken thighs very dry with kitchen paper and season both sides with half the salt and half the pepper; dry meat browns deeply instead of steaming. Thaw the puff pastry in the fridge.

   Add in this stepBoneless chicken thighs, whole 300 gSalt 0.4 tspBlack pepper to taste

2. Heat the oil in a heavy 24 cm pan over medium-high heat until it just starts to smoke. Lay the thighs in smooth side down and leave them alone for 3 min per side, until deep brown. Lift them onto a plate; they will still be underdone inside.

   Add in this stepNeutral oil 1 tbsp

   medium-high heat

3. If there's a lot of fat, pour off all but about 1 tablespoon, keeping the brown bits on the bottom. Add the butter and the quartered mushrooms and cook on medium-high heat for 5 min, until their liquid has gone and they turn golden, then add the chopped shallot, carrot in 1 cm dice, minced garlic and thyme and cook 3 min more.

   Add in this stepUnsalted butter 35 gButton or cremini mushrooms 120 gShallot (or a little onion) 1½Carrot 80 gGarlic cloves 1Fresh thyme sprigs 2

   medium-high heat

4. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 1 min, then pour in the wine and let it bubble on medium-high heat for 1 min 30 sec, scraping the browned bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon, until almost gone. Those brown bits are where the sauce's deep flavour comes from.

   Add in this stepAll-purpose flour 25 gDry white wine 50 ml

   medium-high heat

5. Add the stock gradually, stirring out any lumps, then the cream, and simmer on medium-low heat for 5 min until the sauce coats a spoon thickly. Fish out the thyme stems. Cut the chicken into 2–3 cm pieces and add it with any juices from the plate, plus the peas, mustard, parsley and the remaining salt and pepper. Let it cool for 15 minutes.

   Add in this stepChicken stock 240 mlHeavy cream 80 mlFrozen peas 60 gDijon mustard 1 tspChopped flat-leaf parsley 2 tbspSalt 0.4 tspBlack pepper to taste

   medium-low heat

6. Spoon the filling into a 18 cm baking dish. Roll the pastry to 3 mm, drape it over with 1.5 cm overhang, press it onto the rim and cut 3 or 4 slits. Brush with beaten egg, keeping it off the cut edges so the layers can rise, then chill the dish for 10 minutes.

   Add in this stepAll-butter puff pastry (frozen) 150 gEgg (for brushing) 1

7. Set the dish on a tray and bake at 200 °C for 28 min, until the pastry is tall, crisp and deep golden. Let it rest 10 minutes before serving.