Chicken & red pepper shortcrust pie

Ingredients

• 600 g raw boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 2 cm pieces
• 600 g ready-rolled refrigerated shortcrust pastry, enough for the base and lid of a 23 cm pie
• 150 g red bell pepper, diced
• 120 g onion, finely diced
• 9 g garlic, minced
• 15 ml olive oil
• 20 g all-purpose flour
• 30 g tomato paste
• 180 ml reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 g sweet paprika
• 3 g salt
• 0.5 g black pepper
• 1 large egg, beaten with 5 ml water, for brushing
• 60 g washed mixed salad leaves, to serve

Let’s make it

1. Pat the chicken dry and season with half the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken in two batches for about 3 minutes per batch, then transfer to a plate; it will finish cooking in the sauce.
2. Reduce the heat to medium. Cook the onion and pepper in the same skillet for 7–8 minutes. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste and paprika for 1 minute, then the flour for 1 minute. Gradually stir in the broth. Return the chicken and collected juices; simmer for 6–10 minutes until the gravy is thick and several of the largest chicken pieces reach 165°F (74°C). Add the remaining salt and pepper.
3. Spread the filling in a shallow dish and cool for 20 minutes, until no longer steaming. Meanwhile heat the oven to 400°F (200°C), with a metal baking sheet on the lower-middle rack. Line a 23 cm metal pie dish with half the pastry, leaving a small overhang; keep the lined dish and lid dough chilled while the filling cools.
4. Spoon the cooled filling into the pastry case. Brush the rim with a little egg wash, cover with the remaining pastry, trim and crimp the edges. Cut three small steam vents in the lid and brush with egg wash. Discard leftover egg wash.
5. Set the pie on the hot baking sheet. Bake for 40–45 minutes until the pastry is deep golden and cooked through and the center of the filling reaches 165°F (74°C). Cover the edges loosely with foil if they brown too quickly.
6. Rest for 15 minutes before cutting into six equal wedges. Serve each wedge with one-sixth of the salad leaves. The total time includes the filling cooling and the final rest.