RCI-BR.006.0001.001
African Chicken Pie
The delicate puff pastry used as the topping on this pie shows the influence of the Dutch on this recipe. This type of pastry was used daily in the average Dutch household. This recipe was used in South Africa.
Prep15 min
Cook30 min
Total45 min
Servings4
Difficultyadvanced
Ingredients
- stewing or roasting hen5 lb
- onion (peeled1 largequartered)
- 6 whole
- 4 whole
- ¼ tsp
- 1 tsp
- 6 unit
- ½ lb
- 3 cups
- ½ cup
- ¼ cup
- 2 unit
- 2 tbsp
- 2 unit
- recipe puff pastry (see below)1 unit
- egg - beat with 1 tbsp water and use as coating for pastry1 unit
Method
1
Place the whole hen in a large pot with the quartered onion, allspice, cloves, mace, salt, and peppercorns.
1 minutes
2
Pour 3 cups of water and ½ cup white wine over the hen, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the hen is completely tender.
90 minutes
3
Remove the hen from the pot and allow it to cool until handle-able, then shred or cut the meat into bite-sized pieces, discarding bones and skin.
15 minutes
4
Strain the cooking liquid through a fine sieve into a clean bowl, discarding the solids and reserving the broth.
5 minutes
5
Measure 2 cups of the reserved broth into a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
2 minutes
6
Whisk the cream of wheat with 2 tablespoons of cold water until smooth, then slowly pour this slurry into the simmering broth while stirring constantly to avoid lumps.
3 minutes
7
Stir in the cubed ham and shredded hen meat, then simmer gently for 5 minutes to combine flavors.
5 minutes
8
Whisk the 2 egg yolks with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in a small bowl, then slowly temper by adding a few tablespoons of the hot broth mixture while whisking continuously.
2 minutes
9
Remove the saucepan from heat and stir the tempered egg mixture into the filling until well combined, then fold in the sliced hard-boiled eggs.
2 minutes
10
Transfer the chicken filling to a pie dish and allow to cool to room temperature.
15 minutes
11
Preheat the oven to 400°F, then cover the filling with the puff pastry, trimming and sealing the edges against the dish rim.
5 minutes
12
Beat 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of water and brush the egg wash over the pastry top, then bake for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and puffed.
28 minutes