Roast Chicken, Pancetta & Leek Pie (serves 2)

It’s cold. It seems to be dark all the time – you basically get up at dawn with just enough time to watch the sun set. Did I mention that it’s cold? At times such as this the immensely heart warming chicken comes to mind. It’s the culinary warm hug. It was one of those days. 
We had been going to make a fairly standard Sunday roast: chicken, roasties, carrots, sprouts (your standard meat, spuds and two veg), but somehow we left the supermarket with a leek.
It was then that Sarah suggested we make a pie. We have not really tried to make pie from scratch before, and are always up for a little culinary experimentation. Chicken and leek pie! Oh, and we have some pancetta in the freezer. It was sounding pretty good: The three champions of savoury flavour were conspiring to create a gastronomic delight. Then we realised we still had some fresh thyme – it’s almost a constant kitchen companion that one...and mustard...and lemon. It’s often the little pinches of things – well placed and in a sparing manner - that really serves to bring out depth of flavours in your principle ingredients. Chicken and thyme, mustard and pig-meat, cheese and leek... suddenly, everything came together... This is the story:

Ingredients:
Pastry
250g plain flour
65g cold lard
65g cold butter
pinch of salt
pinch of mustard powder
generous tsp of dried thyme
1/2 tsp of white wine vinegar
cold water
1 free-range egg, beaten

Filling
2 organic, free-range chicken legs
a pinch of salt
1 tbsp olive oil
70g cubed pancetta
1 large leek
a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme
1/2 tbsp plain flour
200ml whole milk
50g grated mature cheddar cheese
black pepper
1 tsp Dijon mustard
squeeze of lemon

Preparation
The Pastry
-    Cut the lard & butter into small cubes.
-    Rub into the flour, thyme & salt in a mixing bowl until it resembles breadcrumbs.
-   Add the vinegar & small amount of cold water & mix in. Keep adding more water bit by bit until you have a dough. Try and work it as little as possible.
-   Put in the fridge to chill until the filling is ready.

The Filling
-    Put the chicken legs in a baking tray & cover with the olive oil & salt. Roast in a hot oven (about 200-220C) until they are cooked & the skin is crispy (its about 45 minutes). Eat the skin! (At this point, we tend to strain the roasting pan to get all the lovely savoury fat.) Then let the legs cool a little and take the meat off the bones.
-   Fry the pancetta in a large frying pan until golden & crispy. Add the leeks and fresh thyme, cover and cook until the leeks are tender (not stiff, but not completely translucent either), remove the lid & cook until the moisture has evaporated. Then add either some of the chicken roasting fat, or some butter to lubricate.
-   Take the pan off the heat, add the flour & stir in. Add the milk bit by bit over the heat to make a bechamel sauce. Once all the milk has all been added, bring to a boil, then put the heat down very low to let the sauce cook out, stirring occasionally. Add the mustard at this point.
-   After 5 mins take the pan off the heat & add the cheese. Once this has melted, add the chicken, black pepper & the squeeze of lemon. You don't need to add salt to this as there is already plenty in the pancetta & the cheese. Leave to cool slightly.

To Make the Pie
-     Preheat the over to 180C.
-    Cut the dough in half, roll out one of them thinly to use for the base and drape it over a greased baking dish. Make sure its big enough to cover the whole dish when carefully nudged right into the corners. (I have no idea what size baking dish to use; like anyone follows those guidelines anyway! Just use whatever you have that looks about the right size. We used a small loaf tin & that worked fine.) Egg wash the pastry base all over to help stop it going soggy.
-   Pour in the chicken filling.
-   Egg wash the edges, roll out the other half of dough to the right size & lay over the top. Crimp along the edges with a fork or your fingers & cut off the excess dough and generously egg wash the top. Cut a small hole in the middle of the lid to let steam escape.
-   Bake in the oven for 35-40 minute until the top is golden & crispy. Once out, let the pie rest for a few minutes before serving.