Moroccan Chicken Pie

• 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3cm cubes
• Telegraph Hill extra virgin olive oil
• 4 rashers of good quality bacon (bacon is definitely one of those things you get what you pay for)
• 1 sheet flaky puff pastry
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 packet Telegraph Hill Apricot and Olive Tagine
• Chicken Stock or Water

1.  Heat Telegraph Hill olive oil in frying pan and cook the chopped bacon
2. Brown the chicken and add the Telegraph Hill Apricot and Olive Tagine.
3. Cook until the chicken is cooked, approximately 20min, adding stock or water as required to keep the consistency the same.
4. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly
5. Heat the oven to 220c (pastry loves a hot oven)
6. Roll the pastry sheet out on a floured bench until it’s just bigger than your 20cm pie tin.
7. Turn the pie tin upside down onto the pastry and cut around it leaving 2cm extra.
8. Save the scraps of pastry to make decorations for the top of the pie(or a message saying my pie don’t eat)
9. Spoon chicken tagine mix into the 20cm pie tin and cover with the pastry. (Put pastry on the top, pastry free bottom)
10. Press down firmly on the edges to seal and trim of the excess.
11. Cut a hole in the center to allow steam to escape(this will help keep your pastry crunchy, not soggy)
12. Brush the pastry with egg yolk and bake for 20min

I like pies. I’m not talking about the pies you get from the service station or bakery, although I’m sure they are great given the right set of circumstances. I’m talking old school, homemade pies, fresh from the oven that burn your mouth when you try to eat it because you can’t wait for it to cool down before you start eating it. The type of pies you tell yourself that there will be leftovers for later but there seldom are. This one falls into that category, and is excellent made with duck as well as chicken. Just be careful if you are using ducks from duck shooting, I have a filling that is proof that biting onto a piece of shot is a painful experience.