Ingredients

Step by step

1. Start by making the pastry. Add the saffron to a small dry frying pan and cook for about 1 minute, stirring, to lightly toast it and bring out the flavour. Tip it into a pestle and mortar and grind to a powder. Reserve a pinch for the egg glaze. Set aside half of the remainder for the pie filling, then add 1 tablespoon of boiling water to the mortar containing the rest of the saffron. Add another 2 tablespoons of cold water and put this to one side for binding the pastry.
2. Sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a mixing bowl. Rub in the lard and butter until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Gradually add the saffron water to bring the pastry together as a clean ball (add a little extra water, if needed). Wrap in clingfilm and chill for at least 30 minutes.
3. For the filling, heat the oil in a casserole and brown the chorizo for 2 minutes over a medium-high heat until lightly coloured all over. Remove to a plate using a draining spoon. Cut the chicken thighs into chunky pieces (about 6 pieces per fillet), season, and then add half at a time to the casserole to brown. Once the chicken is lightly coloured, remove with a draining spoon and add it to the plate with the chorizo. You shouldn’t need to add more oil.
4. Add the onions and celery to the casserole and cook for 3-4 minutes until starting to soften. Mix in the garlic and the reserved saffron, followed by the flour. Return the chicken and chorizo and any juices from the plate and stir together. Pour in the sherry, stirring to mix well, and bubble for 1 minute before adding the chicken stock. Season and bring to the boil. Partially cover with a lid, reduce the heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Tip the filling into a 1.5-litre capacity pie dish and leave to cool for at least 1 hour (at room temperature).
5. Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Mix the beaten egg with the reserved pinch of saffron to make a glaze. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface, until about 4-5mm thick, so that it is slightly larger than the top of the pie dish. Dampen the rim of the dish with water, then lift the pastry lid on top and press down around the edge. Trim neatly. You can reroll the trimmings and decorate the top as you wish – we added a border of leaves after crimping the edge with a fork. Make a little hole in the centre of the lid for steam to escape. Brush the pastry with the saffron egg glaze and transfer the pie to a baking tray.
6. Bake for 45-50 minutes until the pastry is crisp and golden brown and the filling is piping hot. Serve with your favourite veg.