Chicken and Watercress Pie

This chicken and watercress pithivier with ricotta cheese and wrapped in puff pastry is delicious eaten hot or cold and perfect for feeding a crowd.
chickwatercresspieA good pie to eat cold, stuffedwith a light mix of ricotta and green, peppery watercress, over a layer of poached chicken.

SERVES 6

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 corn-fed chicken, about 1.5-1.8kg
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 celery sticks
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 large bunch of watercress, chopped
  • 250g ricotta cheese
  • 100g breadcrumbs
  • ¼ tsp grated nutmeg
  • ½ tsp ground white pepper
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 egg
  • 500g puff pastry
  • 1 egg, mixed with a pinch of salt and 1 tsp water, to glaze

METHOD

Put the chicken in a casserole and cover with water. Add the bay leaf, celery and onion and bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer and poach for one hour. Allow to cool then take all the meat off the bone (keep the stock for gravy or soup).

Mix together the watercress, ricotta, breadcrumbs, nutmeg, seasoning and egg. Cut the pastry in half and roll each piece out thinly into an oval that is roughly the size of a whole chicken. Put one round on a baking sheet.

Place the chicken meat in the centre of this piece of pastry, leaving a border of 3cm, then cover the meat with the watercress mixture.

Brush the edge of the pastry with the eggwash, then lay the second piece over the top. Press down the edges, and trim to make a neat oval. Brush the whole surface with eggwash then score the surface with a knife.

To bake, preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6. Place the pithivier in the oven and bake until golden (25-35 minutes). Allow to cool before slicing.