Chicken Sheperd's Pie



Yummy homey comfort food!



Chicken Sheperd's Pie for dinner, anyone?  Most recipes I've seen call for tinned condensed soup for the sauce, leftover chicken for the filling and leftover mashed potatoes for the topping. This recipe here however is my very own self concocted version from scratch. It's easy to make and is very versatile, you can change the recipe around to suit  your family. Chuck in whatever and however much meat or vegetable or herb or spice or cheese you fancy. Play around with it, I'm sure the end result will still be yummy.  Do try and have fun making your very own pie. 

Chicken Sheperd's Pie

Ingredients:

3 to 4 large Potatoes
1  Tbs Butter
1 to 2 Tbs Milk or Cream
Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste

600 g Chicken Thighs, deboned, skin removed & cubed

1 Tbs Oyster Sauce

1 Tbs Soy Sauce

Ginger Juice

1 Tbs Garlic
1 Tbs cooking wine

pinch of Salt &  ground white pepper

1 tsp Dried Tarragon

2- 4 Leeks
1 Carrot (diced, steamed)
1 Cup Broccoli (steamed)
1 Tbs Garlic
1 Tbs butter
1 Tbs plain flour
1 1/2 - 2 cups Chicken Stock
2 Tbs to1/4 cup Whipping Cream (half & half or single cream)
Salt & Freshly ground Black Pepper, to taste


How to cook:

Mashed Potatoes: Peel skin off potatoes, wash then steam for 15 minutes or till cooked & soft. Transfer to a bowl, mash up adding butter (add more if u don't mind your waistline!) and milk or cream (add enough to your desired consistency). Season with salt & pepper.

Chicken: Marinade chicken thighs with oyster sauce, soy sauce, ginger juice, garlic, salt & pepper for at least 2 hours or overnight. Drizzle some olive oil in a pan, pan fry the chicken. When the chicken is half cooked, add the tarragon and continue cooking  till golden fully cooked. Set aside.

Filling & Sauce & Assembly: When the chicken has been removed from the pan, add a little more olive oil and saute the garlic and leeks. Push to one side of the pan, add butter. When the butter has melted, add the flour and cook a couple minutes, stirring. Add chicken stock (add more if you prefer more sauce) and stir until smooth. Stir in cream (add more if you prefer a creamier & richer sauce). Season with salt & pepper.  Tumble in the carrot and broccoli. Simmer until veggies are soft and sauce has thicken, add the cooked chicken thighs, mix well. Remove from stove and pour into baking dish. Top with mashed potatoes. Bake at 180 degrees Celcius for about 20 minutes or until mashed potatoes are golden. Done!





Dig in!