Chicken, ham and leek filo pie
Serves: 6
Prep time: 35 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Ant Duncan
Chicken, ham and leek filo pie
With tender chunks of chicken, ham, leeks and peas in a light but creamy sauce, and topped with crunchy filo, this will be a new family favourite
Serves: 6
Prep time: 35 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
372Kcal
Fat
13gr
Saturates
4gr
Carbs
27gr
Sugars
3gr
Fibre
3gr
Protein
32gr
Salt
1gr
Tamsin Burnett-Hall
Tamsin learned the tricks of the trade from cookery legend Delia Smith. A trusted recipe writer for the magazine for over 25 years, she is now our Senior Food Producer, overseeing testing and editing to ensure that every recipe tastes great, is straightforward to follow and works without fail. In her home kitchen, Tamsin creates fuss-free flavour-packed food for friends and family, with baking being her ultimate form of comfort cooking
See more of Tamsin Burnett-Hall’s recipes
Tamsin Burnett-Hall
Tamsin learned the tricks of the trade from cookery legend Delia Smith. A trusted recipe writer for the magazine for over 25 years, she is now our Senior Food Producer, overseeing testing and editing to ensure that every recipe tastes great, is straightforward to follow and works without fail. In her home kitchen, Tamsin creates fuss-free flavour-packed food for friends and family, with baking being her ultimate form of comfort cooking
See more of Tamsin Burnett-Hall’s recipes
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil, plus 5 tsp for the filo
- 640g skinless chicken thigh fillets, trimmed
- 5 large sheets filo pastry, from a 270g pack
- 400g leeks, rinsed and thickly sliced
- 300ml chicken stock (made using ½ stock cube)
- 100ml cider or white wine
- 25g cornflour
- 150g lighter crème fraîche
- 100g smoked ham, chopped
- 150g frozen peas
- 1 tbsp chopped tarragon (or thyme)
- 1 tsp poppy or sesame seeds
Step by step
Get ahead
Prep the filling up to 24 hours ahead, chill. Bake the assembled pie for an extra 10 minutes or so, until piping hot.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a deep ovenproof sauté pan (or use a regular frying pan now and a pie dish later). Cut the chicken into 2cm chunks, season and brown in two batches over a high heat, removing to a plate when ready. Take the pack of filo out of the fridge now, so that it will be easier to handle.
- Stir the leeks into the fat that’s left in the pan, adding some seasoning and about 50ml of the stock. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 3 minutes until the leeks are starting to soften.
- Increase the heat again, return the chicken and any juices to the pan then pour in the cider or wine and bubble briskly for about 2 minutes to burn off the raw alcohol, then add the rest of the stock. Mix the cornflour with a little cold water then add to the pan, simmering until thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the crème fraîche, ham, peas and herbs, and season to taste. If your pan isn’t ovenproof, transfer the mixture to a pie dish. Preheat the oven to 190°C, fan 170°C, gas 5
- Unroll the filo sheets. With each sheet, brush ½ teaspoon of oil onto half of the pastry then fold over and brush ½ teaspoon of oil over the top. Lay across the top of the pan, letting the sheets overlap and hang over the edges slightly. Scrunch up the overhang and fold back inside the pan. Sprinkle the top with seeds.
- Place on a baking tray and bake for about 30 minutes until crisp, golden and bubbling. Let the pie rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
