Halal-conscious recipe
Chicken, leek and mushroom pie, Halal
John Torode's chicken, leek and mushroom pie with Halal chicken poached in milk, a creamy leek and mushroom sauce and a puff pastry lid, with the stock cube and pastry fat checked.
Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.
Photo: Mr Michael Phams · CC BY-SA 2.0
Why Halal checks matter here
The pie has no pork or alcohol in the recipe, but the chicken needs Halal slaughter, the chicken stock cube is a meat product, and bought puff pastry can be made with lard.
This pie has no pork or alcohol in the recipe, so the Halal work is in the sourcing. The chicken needs Halal slaughter, the chicken stock cube in the poaching milk needs to be Halal-certified or a vegan vegetable cube (see stock cubes), and bought puff pastry needs its fat read, since some pastry is made with lard.
It follows John Torode's chicken, leek and mushroom pie for BBC Good Food. The chicken poaches in milk with herbs, and 650 ml of that liquid becomes the sauce for the leeks and mushrooms.
The filled dish takes a puff pastry lid and bakes for 20 to 25 minutes at 220°C.
Halal-critical ingredients
- Chicken Chicken is a Halal bird, but slaughter decides whether the meat is Halal. Buy from a Halal butcher or in a certified pack. See Chicken.
- Chicken stock cube UK chicken stock cubes such as OXO and Knorr contain chicken that is not certified Halal. Use a Halal-certified cube or a vegan vegetable cube. See Stock cubes.
- Puff pastry Pastry fats vary, and lard, which is pork fat, turns up in some pastry. Read the fat on the pack and choose one made with butter or vegetable fat. See Lard.
Safe substitutes
- 1 chicken stock cube → 1 Halal-certified chicken stock cube or vegan vegetable cube
- Puff pastry of unknown fat → Puff pastry that lists butter or vegetable fat
Allergens
gluten (flour, puff pastry), milk (milk, butter, crème fraîche)
Ingredients
Poached chicken
- 4 Halal large chicken breasts
- 4 Halal skinless, boneless chicken thighs
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ small pack thyme sprigs
- ½ small pack flat-leaf parsley, leaves and stalks separated
- 2 large onions, chopped
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 Halal-certified chicken stock cube or vegan vegetable stock cube, crumbled
- 750 ml milk, plus extra to glaze
Sauce and lid
- 100 g butter
- 3 leeks, chopped
- 300 g button mushrooms, halved
- 100 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 200 ml crème fraîche
- 500 g puff pastry made without lard (read the fat on the pack)
Method
- Poach the chicken. Put the Halal chicken in a large pan with the bay, half the thyme sprigs, the parsley stalks, onions, garlic, stock cube and seasoning. Pour over the milk, topping up with water if needed so the chicken is covered. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. Lift out and leave to cool.
- Keep the liquid. Strain the poaching liquid through a sieve into a large jug; you need 650 ml for the sauce.
- Make the sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a low-medium heat. Add the leeks and mushrooms and cook for 5 to 10 minutes until soft, then season. Stir in the flour to coat the vegetables, then slowly add the poaching liquid, stirring, until you have a thick sauce.
- Fill the dish. Pull the chicken into thumb-sized chunks with two forks. Chop the parsley leaves and stir them into the sauce with the thyme leaves, crème fraîche and chicken. Check the seasoning and spoon into your pie dish or dishes to cool slightly.
- Top and bake. Heat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan, gas 7). Roll the pastry on a floured surface to the thickness of a £1 coin. Stick thin strips from the edges around the wet lip of the dish, wet them, then lay the pastry on top, trim and crimp. Brush with milk, cut a steam hole and bake on a baking sheet for 20 to 25 minutes until risen and golden.
How this recipe was researched
Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Chicken, leek & mushroom pie' by John Torode (serves 8: 4 large chicken breasts and 4 skinless boneless thighs poached 15 minutes with bay, half a small pack of thyme, parsley stalks, 2 chopped onions, 1 garlic clove, a crumbled chicken stock cube, seasoning and 750 ml milk, topped up with water to cover; 650 ml of the strained liquid kept for the sauce; 3 leeks and 300 g halved button mushrooms softened 5 to 10 minutes in 100 g butter, 100 g flour stirred in and the liquid added slowly; the chicken pulled into chunks and stirred in with the parsley leaves, thyme leaves and 200 ml crème fraîche; topped with 500 g puff pastry rolled to the thickness of a £1 coin, glazed with milk and baked 20 to 25 minutes at 220°C (200°C fan, gas 7); ketchup optional). We specified Halal chicken, a Halal-certified or vegan vegetable stock cube, and puff pastry made without lard. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.
Technique and ingredient sources
-
Chicken, leek & mushroom pie — BBC Good Food
Retrieved:
By John Torode. Serves 8, prep 25 minutes, cook 1 hour 10 minutes: chicken breasts and thighs poached 15 minutes in 750 ml milk with herbs, onion, garlic and a stock cube; 650 ml of the liquid thickened with 100 g butter and 100 g flour over leeks and mushrooms; crème fraîche; 500 g puff pastry lid baked 20 to 25 minutes at 220°C. We specified Halal chicken, stock and pastry.
-
Stock cubes analysis — isithalal.food
Retrieved:
Which UK stock cubes contain uncertified meat fat, and the vegan alternatives.