It’s the 85th Acadamy Awards, fondly referred to as The Oscars, and while we’ve been sleeping here in the UK, the glitterati of Hollywood have been celebrating and commisserating with a sumptuous feast designed by celebrity Chef Wolfgang Puck at the The Governor’s Ball.
So now Bill’s perused the menu of 35 or so dishes and is making one of his favourites!
Ingredients
70g plain flour
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt
750g chicken breast fillets, cut into 2cm dice
2 tbsp olive oil
2 leeks, white part only, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
150ml chicken stock
4 tbsp crème fraiche
A small bunch of tarragon, leaves chopped
375g ready-rolled all butter puff pastry
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Combine flour, cayenne pepper and salt in a
shallow bowl. Add the chicken and toss to coat, shaking off any excess flour.
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Add chicken and stir-
fry for 2-3 minutes or until light golden. Remove chicken from pan and set
aside.
3. Return pan to a medium heat, add leeks and garlic and cook, stirring
occasionally, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add stock and crème fraiche, simmer
gently for 5 minutes, then return the chicken to the pan and cook for 1-2
minutes further. Remove from heat, season and stir through the tarragon.
4. You will need 4 individual pie dishes. Using an upside down dish as a
guide, cut out a round of pastry for the pie lid(s), allowing an extra 1cm all
round. Spoon the filling into the dishes. Brush the rims with egg and top with
the pastry lids pushing down the edges around the rim. Brush tops with
egg yolk and pierce the top of each pie. Use any pastry trimmings to cut
out Oscar figurines and use these to decorate the top of your pies.
5. Brush decorations with egg and bake for 20-30 minutes until golden. Cool for 5
minutes before serving with a crisp green salad.