Chicken Pie With Caramelized Onion Crust

My family loves pies , tarts and quiches . Savoury or sweet they love them :) My piggies miss all these home baked munchies when they are away in college :( How I wish they were served these in their canteens. But alas no , so whenever they are back , I will make sure I make more for them to savor :)

I have tried out many types of crust for chicken pie but this one with caramelized onions turned out to be a winner. I love the aroma of caramelized onion in the pie crust?.it is something so different from those classic ones :) It is so easy to prepare?and I know for sure I will use this crust again and again :) I used this crust once for my mango chutney pie some time back and it was a favourite among my Piggies so for this time round, I filled it with chicken and mushroom filling?whoa it was a perfect match and every mouthful turned out to be so yummy good?.you want some you have to try this one out?.you will be mesmerized by the sweet aroma of caramelized onions. My toes are trying to stand up in ovation for this chicken pie ! LOL ! A good munchies for the coming festive season?Xmas pot bless party especially?.can prepare this a day in advance.

this bigger pie is for Claire and her kids :)
before she goes off for her holiday in Japan...
hope she remembers my goodies when she thinks of my pie :p

Have a nice trip Claire :))

Chicken Pie With Caramelized Onions Crust

Chicken & Mushrooms Filling :

1 large chicken breast ? diced
½ tbsp of oyster sauce
½ tsp of corn flour

12 pieces of fresh swiss brown mushroom ? sliced thick
6 baby corns - diced
1 large carrot ? diced
2 large onions ? diced
2 sprigs of Italian parsley ? chopped
2 pips of garlic ? chopped

1 tin of Campbell mushroom soup mixed with ½ cup water
1 tsp black pepper ? crushed finely
2 tbsp of olive oil

4 hard boiled eggs ? quartered

Preparation:

Marinade the diced chicken breast with oyster sauce and corn flour for 10 minutes.
Mix well the Campbell soup with ½ cup water and leave aside.

Heat olive oil in a medium heavy-based pan. Add garlic and onions and sauté for 2 minutes under low heat till aromatic and soft, add in the chicken and the rest of the diced veggies and stir fry till soft. Add in the Campbell mushroom soup and stir till well incorporated with the veggies and the mixture is of thick consistency . Add in the parsley and off the heat. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before using it. This filling can be prepared a day before.


Crust:

2 shallots ? sliced thinly
3 cups flour
1.5 tbsp sugar
2/3 cup iced water
180 butter

Preparation :

Slice the onion as thinly as possible and toss with a large pinch of salt. The salt helps breaks down the cell walls and speeds up caramelization. Add about 2 tsp of olive oil to a pan over medium heat and fry the onions until they are very soft and a light beige all the way through. Allow them to cool to room temperature then put them in the freezer.

Move the oven rack to the lower middle position and pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Put the flour and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Cut the frozen butter into small cubes then add to the food processor along with the caramelized onions. Pulse for 1 second at a time until the mixture resembles pea sized pebbles. Add 1/4 C of ice cold water and pulse until the mixture just starts to come together (but is still crumbly). Dump it out onto a work surface and quickly form into 2 round pucks. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Lightly flour a work surface and roll out one puck of dough until about 1/8? thick. Fold the top edge to the center then fold the bottom edge to the center. Fold the rounded bits to the left and right over to make an envelope shaped rectangle . Flip the dough and roll this out trying to keep the rectangle shape until it?s about 12?x 8?. Cut this into six 4? squares. Put these in the fridge and repeat with the other disc of dough.

When you have 12 square pieces of dough, gently press each piece into a muffin tin and fill with the filling. Fold the 4 edges of the dough together to close off the top of each pie. Brush the tops with and egg yolk and cream wash then put the tin in the oven.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and allow them to cool until you can remove them by hand. Serve warm with a salad for dinner or cold as a snack for your pot bless party :)

Enjoy !

Quote of the day

" The recipe for a successful pastry is a cup of patience
added with a pinch of courage and a dash of ingenuity "

~ unknown ~

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