Best ever Roast Chicken Pie with Ham

Serves 10 - 12

Be prepared to take a bow when you serve this delicious chicken pie. The chicken develops much more flavour if it is
first roasted in the oven before being used in the pie.

2 chickens Ina Paarman's Garlic & Herb seasoning

2 t (10 ml) Ina Paarman's Chicken Stock Powder
2 cups (500 ml) dry white wine
2 onions, cut in quarters

Place the chickens in an oven roasting pan. Season with Garlic & Herb seasoning and chicken stock powder. Carefully
pour the wine down the side of the pan and scatter the onions in between. Roast open at 180ºC until chickens are
cooked. Allow to cool. Remove the skin and bones and cut the meat into smaller pieces. Arrange the meat in smaller
individual soup bowls or in a big pie dish. Place the skins and bones back in the roasting pan. Add 4 cups (1 litre) water
and 4 t (20 ml) chicken stock and bring to the boil to deglaze the pan and extract all the flavour from skin and bone.
Simmer for 20 minutes. Strain the liquid and reserve for the sauce.

Sauce
½ cup (125 g) butter
1/3 cup (80 ml) flour
3 cups (750 ml) of stock from chicken bones and skin
1 cup evaporated milk
200 g smoked ham, diced
1 t (5 ml) hot English mustard powder
¼ cup (60 ml) chopped parsley
½ cup (125 ml) fresh cream
Ina Paarman's Garlic Pepper seasoning
Sour cream pastry (recipe to follow)

Melt the butter, add the flour and heat until foaming. Stir with a wooden spoon. Add stock and evaporated milk. Stir until
thickened. Add ham, mustard powder, parsley and cream. Season to taste with Garlic Pepper seasoning. Pour the
sauce over the chicken. Allow to cool before covering with pastry (see pastry recipe below). Glaze the pastry with
beaten egg and bake at 220°C (425°F) for 40 minutes until golden brown and glazed.

To Make Individual Pies

Dish chicken and sauce into individual ovenproof soup dishes. Cool completely. Roll pastry out to about 3mm thick. Cut
saucer-size rounds to fit generously over bowls. Beat a whole egg, paint it around the outside top of dish and drape
pastry over. Seal so that no air can escape. Brush pastry with egg. Bake at 220°C (425°F) for 20-25 minutes until
golden brown and puffy.

NB - Do not pierce pastry and make sure it clings tightly to the bowl. If air escapes it will collapse onto the filling and
lose the dome shape.

Chicken pie

Ingredients
lemon juice and grated rind
parsley, chopped
FLAKY PASTRY
500 g cake flour
5 ml salt
500 g butter, grated
250 ml iced water
1 lemon, juice
FILLING
2 kg chicken
salt
pepper

Method:
Sift the cake flour and salt together and rub in 125 g of the butter. Keep the remaining butter in a cool place. Mix the
water and the lemon juice and sprinkle just enough of the liquid over the flour mixture to form a stiff dough. Knead
the dough on a cold surface until soft and pliable. Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out gently into
a rectangle about 5 mm thick. Cover two thirds of the rolled out dough with 125 g of the grated butter. Fold the
dough into thirds, with the third without butter in the centre. Press the outer edges firmly together to seal in the air
that has been folded into the pastry. Fold the dough into thirds again, start at the shortest side of the rectangle.
Press the outer edges firmly together again. Wrap in a damp towel and chill, but do not allow the dough to harden.
Roll out the dough once more, about 5 mm thick, and repeat the buttering and folding process with another 125 g of
butter. Repeat once more to use up all the butter. Work quickly and lightly to keep the dough as cool as possible. Roll
out once more, fold into 3 or 4 layers and wrap in tin foil. Chill for about 30 minutes. Roll out about 3 mm thick and
line a pie dish with the pastry. Place chicken in a saucepan and half cover with water. Add a little salt and simmer
slowly until the meat falls off the bone. Leave to cool in the stock. Remove the meat, reserving the stock. Remove all
the bones and cut the meat into bite size pieces. Season to taste with salt, pepper, lemon juice and rind and parsley.
Thicken the stock with a little flour mixed to a paste with water if necessary and add the chicken pieces. Allow to cool
at room temperature and chill. Transfer to the dish lined with pastry and cover the filling with flaky pastry. Press the
dough firmly along the edge of the dish. Brush with a little egg yolk and bake for 15-20 minutes at 250 ºC (500 ºF).
Reduce the heat to 180 ºC (350 ºF) and bake 15 minutes longer. Serves 6.

Roast Chicken
For all that it's one of the simplest meals to cook, roast
chicken is a daunting task for many. But, if you follow our
simple golden rules, you'll wonder why this super easy
meal isn't on your weekly menu.

Previous topics

Prep talk

When choosing a chicken for roasting, select a bird that is labelled a "roaster". Roasters are generally older birds
with more muscle, flavour and fat. The fat is excellent for roasting because it adds flavour and moisture to the meat
as it cooks and will eventually melt off and collect in the pan. Corn-fed, organic or free-range chicken will be less
spongy as the bird has had a chance to roam around, building up muscle.

A perfectly fresh chicken should have no detectable odour; the flesh should feel firm; the surface should not feel
slick; the skin should be light in colour and moist rather than wet, and the breast meat should be plump and well
rounded. Fresh poultry will keep for two days in the fridge, but thereafter it should be frozen. If you don't have a
microwave, thaw your chicken in the fridge (overnight) or in cold water, never on the windowsill.

To prepare your chicken, remove the giblets and neck and rinse the chicken with cool water, inside and out. Pat it
dry with paper towels and set it on a clean working surface. Tuck your fingers between the skin and the flesh to
loosen the skin and create pockets where you are going to insert your herb or spice butter (see below). Take care not
to break the skin.

Rub the outside of the bird with softened unsalted butter, which encourages browning. Finely chop some fresh
oregano, thyme, and parsley (or whatever herbs you have or prefer) and mash with softened, unsalted butter until
well combined. Work this mixture under the skin of the bird to help keep it moist and to add some flavour notes to
the mild meat. Sprinkle a generous dose of salt and pepper both outside and inside the bird's cavity so that the
seasonings can be absorbed into the meat during roasting, more effective than trying to season the surface later.
Tuck the wing tips between the wings and the body.

Stuff the cavity with a halved orange or lemon, garlic cloves, half an onion, and any fresh or dried herbs of your
choice. You could also use half an apple, celery sticks and carrots, whatever you like. If you're going to stuff the
chicken, do it only just before you put the bird in the oven to prevent bacteria from growing. If the chicken is
particularly lean, you can lay some strips of fatty bacon across the breast of the bird and across the drumsticks.
Remove the bacon after the first 25 minutes of roasting, and baste with the drippings to ensure crisp, brown skin.

Roasting 101

Place the chicken breast-down (to allow the juices to moisten the breast meat) on a V-shaped rack, if you have one,
as this cradles the bird and holds it up higher off the pan than a flat rack (or no rack at all). But any rack will do in a
pinch. Placing the chicken on a rack in the roasting pan lets the hot air circulate under the bird so that it browns
right round... no more flabby chicken skin on the back side. Keeping the chicken out of the pan allows the juices to
evaporate into a rich, caramelised layer (the intensely flavourful base for your sauce), leaving the fat as a layer that
can simply be poured off.

When setting the chicken directly in the roasting pan, the juices that collect around the chicken never have the
chance to reduce. Though flavourful, they aren't caramelised so they're not as rich tasting, and they're mixed with
the fat, which makes degreasing difficult. If you like, scatter some unpeeled garlic cloves in the roasting pan. You can
also add some onions and/or potatoes or other vegetables to the roasting tin, about 40 minutes to an hour
before the chicken is done, depending on their size. Turn them once or twice to ensure they brown evenly.

The length of time a chicken will cook depends on whether it is stuffed and/or trussed and on the quantity of
other ingredients, such as potatoes and vegetables, added to the pan. As a general guide, roast chicken at 220
degrees C/425 degrees F/gas mark 7 for 10 for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 190 degrees C/375 degrees
F/gas mark 5 and allow 45 minutes per kg, plus 20 minutes. A blasting heat at the start of cooking time is what
crisps the skin and gives the chicken a great roasty flavour. High heat throughout cooking works, but causes the fat
to splatter (some prevent this by placing the chicken on a bed of course salt).

If the heat is too low, the skin never really develops that lovely crispy brown and the meat tastes too bland. As for
basting, larger birds are fattier and don't need to be basted. Strips of bacon will help along leaner or smaller birds,
and if you baste, do it only three times during the whole cooking period. If the skin is not crisp to your liking,
squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the breast 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time, and season with salt
and pepper. Don't baste the chicken at all after this and the skin should crisp up well.

Note: Ovens vary and so do chickens, so cooking times should be guidelines only. Generally speaking, your chicken
should be done between an hour and 15 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on size.

The best way to determine if it has cooked long enough is to check for doneness. Do this by checking the skin,
which should be golden brown. The drumsticks should be loose in their joints when you wiggle them; when pricked in
the thigh or breast, the juices should run clear, with no pinkish colouring. If you tilt a whole bird up, the juices that
run out from the cavity should also be clear.

But now may be the time to finally invest in a meat thermometer, as that is the best way to test for doneness.
Dark meat is done between 165 and 175 degrees F/74 to 79 degrees C and white meat is done between 149 and 152
degrees F/65 to 67 degrees C. Most cooks agree the chicken is ready to serve when a meat thermometer inserted
deep into the thigh reads 180 degrees F/82 degrees C. Take care not to insert the thermometer too close to the bone
nor too close to the skin.

Leave the chicken to rest for at least 15 minutes, covered in foil to keep it warm. This allows the juices which have
bubbled up during cooking to sink back into the bird, leaving the meat moist.

Meanwhile, set the roasting tin on top of the stove over a high heat and stir in some white wine, scraping up all the
sediment from the bottom of the tin. Boil down until syrupy and serve this unthickened juice as the French call it
jus, with the roast chicken. If you want a thicker gravy, tilt the roasting tin so the drippings collect in one corner,
skimming off as much fat as possible, and leaving the drippings behind. Stir a tablespoon of flour into the drippings
to make a roux-like paste. Pour in a cup or chicken stock in stages; continue to stir to dissolve the flour evenly to
prevent lumps. Stir in a splash or two of sherry and season with salt and pepper. If you want, you could stir in a
dollop of cream right at the end.

If you've stuffed the chicken, remove the stuffing from the cavity and place in a serving dish. The key to carving a
chicken is to use a very sharp knife and work from the outside in. In other words, remove the legs and wings, then
carve the breast.

Tips & tricks

 If you're cooking for a large crowd, consider making two smaller chickens instead of one large one. This will result
in more moist chicken breasts and will give you extra drumsticks. Do not double the cooking time for one chicken;
simply increase it by 5 to 10 minutes per lb/500g.
 Use a heavy-gauge (metal) roasting pan that just fits the size of the chicken. If the pan is made of glass or is too
large, the juices will spread out and burn.
 Crisp chicken skin is irresistible, but if you're watching your weight, removing it will reduce much of the fat. Don't
worry that all of the flavourings are lost when the skin is removed because the seasonings that are tucked under the
skin will permeate not only the meat, but the pan drippings as well, creating flavourful juices for the gravy and
sauce.
 Trussing is time-consuming and often counter-productive. Trussing keeps the drumsticks and wings close to the
body so that the skin on the inner part of the breast as well as that inside the drumsticks and wings doesn't brown
well. And getting the delicate breast meat and the denser dark meat to cook at the same rate is already an issue in
roasting, so trussing can make the dark meat take even longer to cook. Rather place the chicken on a special V-
shaped rack which cradles the bird nicely and allows even cooking right around.
 Do your vegetables in the roasting tin. Place 8 whole new red potatoes, 4 carrots, cut diagonally into quarters,
and add them with a thickly sliced Spanish onion to the roasting pan. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables for
roasting.
 For a delicious basting sauce, towards the end of the cooking time, mix about a cup of dripping (without the fat)
with 1/4 cup good quality balsamic vinegar and 1/4 cup honey and baste until done.
 If the chicken seems to be browning too much, cover it loosely with foil.
 Make a blend of dried or fresh ground spices and rub them under the chicken's skin and inside the cavity. For a
spicy flavour, try chilli powder or pureed fresh chillies, cumin, and sage. For a taste of India, mix coriander,
cardamom, turmeric and crushed bay leaves. For a touch of Thai, try ginger, lemongrass, fresh coriander leaves and
lime juice.

Side dishes

Carrot cake

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients
250 ml oil
3 eggs, lightly beaten
250 ml castor sugar
750 ml coarsely grated carrot
80 ml crushed pineapple
30 ml sultanas
65 ml walnuts, chopped
10 ml mixed spice
500 ml self-raising flour

Topping
125 g creamed cottage cheese
180 g margarine
500 ml icing sugar
5 ml vanilla essence
walnuts to decorate

Method:
Preheat oven to 180 °C. Grease a 23 cm diameter ring cake tin.
Beat oil, eggs and sugar in a small mixing bowl until light and creamy.
Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl and add carrots, fruits and walnuts.
Sift together mixed spice and flour, fold into creamed mixture and stir until just combined.
Pour mixture evenly into prepared tin and smooth surface.
Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted in centre.
Leave cake in tin for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool.
Mix all topping ingredients together, spread over cake and decorate with walnuts.

CHICKEN AND AVOCADO PIE

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
45 g butter
1 onion, chopped
8 chicken thighs, skinned, deboned and cut into chunks
40 ml wholegrain mustard
2 ml dried tarragon
15 ml cornflour
80 ml milk
2 red peppers, sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large avocado
40 ml lemon juice
400 g puff pastry
30 ml melted butter
10 ml mustard seeds

Method:
1. Heat the butter and sauté the onion until soft. Add chicken and cook for about 5 minutes until chicken is no longer
pink. Stir in the mustard and tarragon. 2. Mix the cornflour and milk together, then add to the chicken. Add the red
pepper and season with salt and pepper. 3. Cut the avocado into large cubes and toss well in the lemon juice. Stir
into the chicken mixture carefully and remove from heat. 4. Line the base and sides of a deep ovenproof dish with
half the pastry. Spoon in the chicken filling. Cover with remaining pastry. Brush the top with melted butter and
sprinkle with mustard seeds. 5. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 ºC for 20 minutes until golden brown and crisp.

CHOC-CHIP COOKIES

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 12 minutes

Ingredients
140 g cake flour
1 ml salt
3 ml bicarbonate of soda
1 ml ground cinnamon
90 g butter
110 g castor sugar
50 g brown sugar
1 large egg
150 g dark chocolate or peppermint crisp

Method:
Sift together flour, salt, bicarb and cinnamon.
Beat together butter and sugar until light. Add egg and beat well. Stir in flour mixture and chocolate pieces and mix
until well combined.
Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto a greased baking tray, leaving space in between each one for spreading.
Bake at 190 °C in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes, allow to cool on baking tray for five minutes, then remove
and cool completely on a wire rack.

Recipe From : Ideas

CHOCOLATE CAKE

Preparation time: 20

Cooking time: 45

Ingredients
500 ml (2cups) cake flour
125 ml (1/2 cup) cocoa powder
5 ml (1 tsp) baking powder
2 ml (1/2 tsp) salt
7 ml (1 ? ½ tsp) bicarbonate of soda
375 ml (1-1/2 cup) oil
500 ml (2cups) cream
Filling
250 ml (1 cup) cream
150 g 150g chocolate, melted
2 eggs
Cocoa powder
Castor sugar

Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 180 C. Grease and line two deep, loos-bottomed, 20cm cake tins.
2. Sift dry ingredients together. Beat eggs, oil and cream together and mix with dry ingredients.
3. Pour into prepared cake tin. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes
out clean.
4. Allow the cake to stand for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack covered with clean dishcloth. Cool
completely.
5. Cut the cake into three equal layers.
6. For the filling: Combine all the ingredients and beat until smooth.
7. Spread filling on the first layer, then cover with second layer and repeat, using third layer. Top with grated
chocolate and decorate with chocolate leaves.
8. To make leaves: Melt brown and white chocolate and brush onto your favourite shape leaves. Place in refrigerator
until chocolate in set. Carefully remove leaves.

SCONES
Ingredients:
2 cups of sifted flour
1/2 tsp salt
4tsp baking Powder
2 TBS margarine
3/4 cup milk

Method:
- Mix the dry ingredients together
- Add the wet ingredients

Baking Time:
Bake at 240°C for +- 7 minutes (until Golden Brown)
Banana loaf
Ingredients:
125g butter or marg
1 cup castor sugar ( white or brown sugar ok)
2 eggs
2 - 3 large bananas mashed
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 cups flour
1 tsp bicarb
1 tsp baking powder

Method:
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and beat well.
Add bananas and vanilla and fold in dry ingredients.

Baking Time:
bake in a loaf tin at 180 c for 45 mins.

Variation:
Grate an apple or pear or some carrot as well and put in the mixture.

BASIC PIZZA CRUST

Ingredients
400 ml white bread flour
10 ml instant yeast
5 ml sugar
2 ml salt
15 ml olive oil
175 ml lukewarm water

Method:
Mix the flour, instant yeast, sugar and salt in a mixing bawl. Add the olive oil to the hot water. Add just enough water
to the flour mixture to form a soft, manageable dough and knead for about 10-15 minutes until the dough is soft and
elastic. Add more flour if the dough is too sticky. Place the dough in a mixing bowl sprayed with non-stick spray.
Lightly spray the dough with the non-stick spray or grease with margarine and cover with plastic wrap. Leave in a
warm place to rise until doubled in volume. Turn the dough out on a floured surface and knock back. Prepare any of
the following bases as desired. For a thick base roll the dough out in a circle about 30 cm in diameter. For a thinner
base roll the dough into two thinner circles, each about 25- 30 cm in diameter. For mini-pizzas divide the dough into
4-6 pieces and roll out smaller circles, each about 10 cm in diameter. Place the pizza base on a floured baking sheet.
Choose any topping and prepare as described in the Pizza topping recipes. (All topping ingredients are enough for the
basic pizza crust.)

Basic mixture for cookies

Cooking time: 12-15 min

Ingredients
190 ml cake flour
65 ml self-raising flour
10 ml baking powder
65 ml soft brown sugar
65 ml castor sugar
1 extra-large egg
1 ml vanilla essence
45 ml oil

Method:
Preheat the oven to 190 ºC (375 ºF).
Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.
Place all the ingredients, except the oil, in the food processor.
Mix while adding small quantities of the oil through the spout of the food processor.
The mixture will be soft and crumbly. Shape the mixture into 10 balls and arrange on the baking sheet, leaving
enough room in between for the biscuits to spread.
Do not flatten the balls as they spread while baking.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until done and brown on top.
Cool slightly on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
Makes about 10.

Malva pudding

Ingredients
150 g sugar
1 egg
150 ml milk
50 ml port
15 g butter
15 ml apricot jam
150 g cake flour
7 ml bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
Sauce
100 g butter
150 g sugar
100 ml milk

Method:
Preheat the oven to 160 º C. Beat the sugar and egg until light.
Heat the milk, port, butter and jam. Stir to dissolve jam and melt butter.
Sift together flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt and fold into beaten egg and sugar mixture in 2 batches, alternating
with the warm milk.
Pour the mixture into a greased rectangular 1,5 litre ovenproof dish and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes.
Place the sauce ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 2 minutes. As soon as the pudding comes out of the oven,
prick it all over and pour over the sauce.