Rustic chicken & apricot pie

600 kcal or less al fresco beach buffet cheap cuts chicken pie for a crowd garden party homemade mains over an hour packed lunch picnic picnic pie summer weekend

N/A

Source

Ingredients

450g pack boneless, skinless chicken thigh

1 medium onion , quartered

2 tsp coriander seed , toasted

½ tsp ground coriander

¼ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

454g pack pork sausage , meat squeezed from the skins

200g pack bacon lardon

2 tbsp chopped parsley

12 ready-to-eat dried apricots

340g pack mini chicken breast fillets

100g lard , plus extra for the tin

450g plain flour , plus extra for the tin

3 tbsp milk

1 egg , beaten, to seal and glaze

Method

Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Brush a 23cm springform tin with melted lard and dust with a little flour.

Whizz the chicken thighs in a food processor to mince them. Add the onion and blitz again to chop it. Tip into a bowl. Add the spices, sausagemeat, lardons, parsley and some salt. Mix really well.

To make the pastry, melt the lard in a saucepan with 150ml water and the milk. When melted, remove from the heat, tip in the flour and beat well. Knead on a lightly floured work surface, then roll out and use two-thirds to line the tin.

Spoon in half the sausage mixture and top with the apricots and half the chicken breasts. Cover with the rest of the sausage mixture, then press the remaining chicken breasts on top.

Roll out the remaining pastry and use to cover the pie. Press firmly onto the filling, then bring the pastry from the sides over the top and seal. Make a hole in the top of the pie for steam to escape, and brush well with the egg. Bake for 30 mins, then reduce oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and bake for 1 hr more. Cool in the tin.