Speedy chicken pot pie

Warm your bones with this chicken pot pie, topped with golden cheese dumplings.

Credit: Donal's Meals in Minutes

• serves

  8

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  40 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

Filling

• 75 g butter
• 125 g drained pickled pearl onions
• 1 large carrot, finely diced
• 2 thyme sprigs, leaves removed
• 1½ tbsp plain flour
• 500 ml chicken stock
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 150 ml cream
• 700 g cooked chicken (meat from 1 rotisserie chicken), torn into bite-sized pieces
• 150 g frozen peas

 

Dumplings

• 225 g cold butter, cubed
• 475 g self-raising flour
• 100 g grated Irish cheddar
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F or Gas Mark 4).
2. Melt 25 g of the butter in a medium-sized ovenproof casserole pan, add the onions and carrot and fry slowly for about 6-8 minutes or until softened with a little colour. Add the thyme and allow to soften for a minute. Add the remaining 50g of butter to the saucepan and allow to melt over a medium heat, add the flour and cook for 1 minute, whisking to combine.
3. Gradually add the stock whisking briskly until it thickens. If it goes a little lumpy, don’t worry; just whisk vigorously until it becomes smooth.
4. Season with a generous pinch of salt and black pepper and add the mustard. Pour in the cream and stir through along with the chicken and peas, allow to simmer for 1 minute.
5. Prepare the dumplings by rubbing the butter and flour together in a bowl until resembling fine breadcrumbs, add ¾ of the cheese and season with sea salt and ground black pepper. Bring the mixture together, using a knife, with a couple of tablespoons of water until you have a dough. Bring together into a ball using your hands. Knead slightly before forming into 20 dumplings, each around the size of a golf ball. Arrange on top of the chicken mix in the pan, starting from the outside and leaving a little space in between each one to allow for rising, and work your way into the inside to give a nice pattern.
6. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese and place in the oven for 25 minutes until they are risen and golden.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.