Irish Chicken, Leek & Potato Bake

For St. Patrick's Day, I've seen a lot of Corned Beef and Cabbage recipes on the recipe blogosphere and I wanted to make a different recipe contribution. Last week I found this handwritten recipe in one of my old cookbooks, 'Irish Chicken and Potato Pie'. I'm honestly not sure who wrote it, or when, but as I was making it a familiar smell filled the kitchen. It brought me back to the many Sundays evenings spent in my Grandparents house, a warm enticing smell...comfort food.

This baked pie has a savory filling of chicken and root vegetables. The mustard and black pepper adds just the right amount of snap to the creamy chicken, leek, and potato filling. The only change I made to the original was to swap the heavy pastry topping to a lighter crisp Phyllo dough, but the essence of the recipe stayed the same.

Here's my recipe for this heart, tasty Chicken bake:


Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 lb Chicken thigh cubed
1 large Potato, peeled/ cubed
1 Leek, chopped
2 Carrots, chopped
2 Celery Stalks, chopped
2 1/2 Tblsp Flour
1 cup Milk
2 Tbsp Mustard
4 Fresh Sage Leaves
1/2 cup Melted Butter
Frozen Phyllo Dough
Salt/Pepper to Taste

Prep Work: Parboil the potato, Thaw the Phyllo Dough, and Preheat the oven to 375F.

Directions:

1. Heat half of the butter in a pot and brown the chicken, then add the leeks, carrots, and celery.

2. Then add the flour and cook for about a minute, then slowly stir in the milk and bring to a simmer.

3. Add the mustard, sage and potatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Then salt and pepper to taste.

4. Line a baking dish with half of the phyllo sheets, then pour in the cooked chicken filling.

5. Cover the filling with a layer of phyllo then brush with melted butter. Add another two layers making sure to coat with butter.

6. Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes.

Enjoy!

I have entered it in Cooking with Herbs -  hosted by Lavender and Lovage.