I made this chicken and chorizo pie, with the help of my mum, using the American Originals Pie Maker I found  in a skip. We tried it out already and made a yummycherry pie, using ready-rolled shortcrust pastry bought in the supermarket. This time we made our own pastry, which wasn’t very hard at all – and we also made a simple chicken filling, using up leftover roasted chicken. Here is my recipe:

The shortcrust pastry:

• 225g flour
• 100g butter or hard margarine
• Pinch of salt
• 3-4 Tbsp cold water (approx)

How to make the pastry:

1. Sieve the flour into a mixing bowl. Dice the butter or margarine and add to the flour. Using your fingertips, rub the butter with the flour until you get breadcrumbs-like mixture.
2.  Make a well in the middle, add the salt and 3 Tbsp water, then, using a metal spatula, mix to a firm dough. Add more water if it’s too dry.
3. Put the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it gently for a few minutes.
4. Make a ball and wrap in cling film, then chill for 30 minutes, while preparing the filling.

The chicken and chorizo filling. You’ll need:

• 1 cup of shredded leftover roasted or grilled chicken
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 red onion
• 50g cooking chorizo
• 1 Tbsp tomato purée
• 2 handfuls of spinach (about 100g) or green peas, green beans, kale
• Water

How to make the filling:

1. Peel, then thinly slice the onion and garlic.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan, and gently cook the onion and garlic until soft.
3. Cut the chorizo into small chunks and add these to the softened onion and garlic. Cook until the chorizo releases its fat, then add the  tomato purée, then chicken bits. Stir for a couple of minutes, then add a few Tbsp of water and the spinach.
4. Put a lid on and cook for 5 minutes until the spinach has wilted. You should not have much sauce around the meat – if you do, turn up the heat and reduce it.
5. Take the pan off the stove, put the lid on to keep it warm.

How to make the pie:

1. Lightly dust a large chopping board with flour, then roll the pastry out with a pin to a circular shape. Make sure you are rolling backwards and forwards, evenly to a thickness of a pound coin, about 4mm.
2. Then choose a plate which about the size of the base of your tin plus the side. Put this plate on top of the pastry and using a knife, cut around it. Make a ball of the leftover pastry and put it back to a fridge.
3. Put the cut-out pastry in the base of the Pie maker or in a pie tin. Place a piece of baking sheet over the pastry then fill the base with cooking beans (or dried beans).
4. Bake for 10 minutes in a medium hot oven, or in the pie maker.
5. Take out the beans and baking sheet, then fill the pastry base with the chicken and chorizo filling. (Be careful, the tin or pie maker is hot!)
6. Roll out the leftover pastry again. Using a smaller plate (a little bit bigger than the diameter of the top of the pie tin), cut out another circular shape. Place this on top of the pie, letting the edge overhang.
7. Bake for about 15 -35 minutes, until the pastry looks golden.
8. Let it cool for a few minutes, then cut off the excess pastry on the top and carefully remove the pie from the tin or pie maker onto a plate.
9. Cut it into wedges and serve.

Tips

• Serve thechicken and chorizo piewarm with some salad or steamed vegetables.
• You can make the same pie using leftover roasted duck, lamb or even stew –  just reduce the sauce!
• If you have any leftover pastry, make some decorations, using cookie cutters, and put these on top of the cake before baking.