I love pies!! Growing up in England, there was a bakery called Greggs that I used to frequent every week for their chicken pasty and steak and kidney pie.
Over the years it became a sort of guilty pleasure and I got my mum hooked on the same pies. Every time I went home, I used to wonder what crack they put in those pies to make them so damn tasty and addictive.
I still wonder to date but nostalgia led me to attempt this chicken and gizzard pie and I am yet to find a pie in this here Kenya that I actually like. Most times I find pies that have too much spice in them, or the meat filling is too tough, or the filling is dry or the pastry isn't quite right. In some way I am very traditional because I don't think pies should be over spiced. The focus should be on having a rich, moist, flavourful filing. So I thought to myself, why not try and make my own pie.
I found a great pre made frozen puff pastry at the supermarket that makes pie baking a walk in a park so all you have to worry about is the filing. This chicken and gizzard pie can be great as a snack or you can have it as a meal as well.
Makes 4 pie pockets
500 grams puff pastry
250 grams chicken gizzards, cleaned and cut
250 grams boneless chicken breast, diced
6 cloves of garlic, minced
Olive oil
1 egg, beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
A handful of chopped parsley
Click here for the bechamel recipe
Pre heat your oven to 180°C.
Pour about 5 tablespoons of olive oil into a pan and add your garlic and put on a medium heat. After about 3 minutes, add your chicken and gizzards to the pan and let them cook over a medium heat for about 15 minutes. If the gizzard or chicken begin to brown, turn down the heat.
Once the chicken is cooked, take it out of the pan and set aside.
Use the same pan to make your bechamel. Once the bechamel sauce is cooked, add your chicken and gizzards and set aside.
Roll out your puff pastry into a rectangle and cut into 8 even sized squares. Put some of the cooled chicken and gizzard filling in the centre of 4 of the squares and top with a sprinkle of parsley. Brush the edges with the beaten egg and use the remaining 4 squares to cover the squares with the filing. Use a fork to press the edges of the pastry together and poke the top once with a fork (this makes sure that the pie doesn't retain moisture and you don't end up with a soggy pastry). Brush the top of the pie pocket with a little more egg.
Place your pie pockets on a tray in the oven on the middle shelf for about 30 minutes or until the pastry is a golden brown.