Chicken and Spicy Sausage Pot Pies (gluten free)

This recipe makes a little bit of chicken go a long way. I use cooked chicken, the leftovers from a roast work well. Alternatively you can use a large boneless breast cooked. Or buy shredded chicken from the supermarket deli.  Pot pies are cooked in a ramekin or heat proof dish, a good sturdy tea cup will do. Alternatively use the topping a make into a one family sized cobbler

From Feed the family for $15 or Less by Sophie Gray
Published by Random House NZ

Costs: $11.59
Serves 4-6

Tips: If you don’t have chorizo, a spicy Spanish style sausage flavoured with chilli and paprika you could use a little chopped bacon for extra flavour.

Gluten free: You could make this without the dumplings. Reduce the liquid so there is just enough for a good gravy and serve it over creamy mash. If using sausage in the recipe check it is gluten free.

Ingredients

For the stew

• 1 tsp oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped or sliced
• 1–2 small chorizo, sliced or chopped
• 1 litre chicken stock
• ½ tsp mixed herbs
• 1 cup kumara or sweet potato, diced
• 1½ cups cooked chicken
• salt and pepper
• 1½ cups or 1 x 400 g can cannellini or other beans such as kidney or butter beans — use what you have
• 1 tbsp of cornflour mixed with 1 tbsp of cold water

Topping

• 150g self-raising flour
• 75g butter or
• a pinch of mixed herbs
• a splash of cold water

Method

Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion, celery and carrot. Add the Chorizo, stock and herbs and simmer until veg are tender crisp. Stir in the Kumara and cooked chicken and season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking until the vegetables are soft.

Stir the beans into the chicken mixture and mix the corn flour with a tablespoon of cold water and stir it in to thicken the gravy.

When the chicken stew is prepared and you have added the corn flour, divide the mixture between 4-6 ramekins or one soufflé style ovenproof dish.
Mix or pulse the self-raising flour, herbs and butter or Olivani in a processor or with your finger-tips then add just enough cold water to form a soft dough.
Roll the dough out on a floured board and cut or shape to fit just inside the rim of the ramekins or dish. Score a diamond pattern on the top with a serrated knife and bake in a preheated oven at 200° for 20 minutes or until the pot pies are light golden, well risen and piping hot.