Madhouse recipe : Chicken & Sausage Pie

This week is British Pie Week apparently. Total fluke because this was on my menu plan long before I discovered that, but it made me smile because we had Chicken & Sausage Pie for lunch and Fish Pie for dinner - both totally different recipes but both definitely pies !

Every time we have a roast chicken dinner, I'm left with about the equivalent of one chicken leg and half a chicken breast the next day. Not enough to feed a family of five but too much to throw away or give to the dogs, so I decided to pad it out with sausages and put a puff pastry lid on it. A new family favourite is born !

Chicken & Sausage Pie

ingredients :

1 pack of sausages

leftover roast chicken/potatoes/vegetables

a handful of mushrooms

2 leeks

gravy

a pack of ready made puff pastry

Start off by frying or grilling the sausages. I used Debbie & Andrews pork sausages which are lovely – really meaty and tasty – but they release very little fat, so I added a splash of olive oil. You might not need it though, depending on your sausages.

Chop the leftover cooked chicken, potatoes and vegetables into bite-sized pieces. Slice the leeks and mushrooms.

Use the juices from the sausages to fry the leeks and mushrooms, adding a knob of butter if necessary.

Chop the sausages into pieces and add to the mushrooms/leeks, then throw in the chicken mixture. 

Add some gravy – I save the leftover gravy in the fridge and reuse that the next day. I also have a new ally for thickening soups and casseroles – this tube of instant gravy which makes perfect, lump-free gravy every time.

Transfer to an ovenproof dish.

Top with the sheet of puff pastry and put in the oven at 180° for about half an hour until the pastry is golden.

 Pie & Mash always go together really well, especially for a pie like this with really rich gravy that is just begging to be mopped up and devoured.

What's your favourite pie filling? Now that I know it's Pie Week, I'm tempted to make another one !