I LOVE pies! Osso Kitchen is renowned at our stalls at farmers markets for sausage rolls, but there is something about a good pie that is just unbeatable. I particularly love the gravy side of the pastry, that’s the important part – it has all the flavour of the filling, and the texture contrast between soft and crisp. If I have one bugbear, it’s ordering a pie and getting a pastry lid that has been cooked separately. It’s all dry, and I detest it – that’s not a pie, it’s a casserole with a bit of cooked pastry on top. Do it properly and bake the pastry along with the filling; I promise you won’t be disappointed!

I’ve used chicken in this seasonal springtime recipe, but you could easily substitute the chicken for rabbit legs. These will take a little longer to cook in the sauce as the meat is worked harder, but you’ll have a gloriously tasty pie that is well worth the wait.

In this recipe, I’ve used morel mushrooms. These are fabulous and full of flavour, but expensive, so feel free to change them for a different variety of mushroom if you prefer. Personally, I’ve used dried morel mushrooms here as I don’t tend to cook with them very often, so having the dried version means that I can use what I like and store the rest back in the cupboard. All you’ll need to do is soak them in very hot water for about 10-15 minutes. Once soaked, give them a squeeze to remove any excess water and use them as you would a normal mushroom. You can also add the mushroom water into the stock to increase the flavour.

The real beauty about this dish is that you can make it earlier in the day or even the day before serving, then take it out of the fridge and pop it into the oven just before serving. If you have any extra pie filling left over, I’ll give you a tip – it makes an amazing sandwich! I’m pretty sure my love of the humble sandwich and how you can jazz them up will appear on these pages at some point in the future – but for now, let’s start cooking …

Serves 6

Ingredients

50ml vegetable oil

4 chicken legs

50g fresh morel mushrooms or 20g dried morel mushrooms, soaked in hot water and cut into quarters

150g peas, blanched

100g broad beans, blanched and skinned

300ml double cream

2tsp grain mustard

150ml white wine

150g Morteau sausage (optional)

200ml chicken stock

Puff pastry to cover the pie dish

1 egg, for glazing

Salt and pepper to season

Method

1. Skin the chicken legs, take the meat off the bone, and dice into 2cm sized pieces.

2. Heat a pan, large enough to hold all the ingredients, on a high heat until it is very hot. Add the oil, followed by the diced chicken, and brown the meat.

3. Once the chicken is lightly golden in colour, remove the meat from the pan. Add another splash of oil and cook off the morel mushrooms - this will only take a couple of minutes at the most. Remove the mushrooms from the pan.

4. Deglaze the bottom of the pan with the white wine, making sure you scrape off all the good bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pan. Reduce the wine down to next to nothing, then add the chicken stock and reduce by half.

5. Next, add the mustard and the cream, and bring back to the boil. Once the mixture is boiling, add the chicken back into the pan, along with the sausage (if you are using it) and reduce the heat down to a simmer. Keep simmering until the cream is reduced down to a sauce-like consistency.

6. Once the sauce has reduced, add the peas, broad beans and mushrooms, making sure that the sauce hasn’t thinned down too much, and remove the pan from the heat. Check the seasoning, and adjust to taste. Allow the pie filling to cool slightly.

7. Place the mixture in an oven proof dish and cover with the puff pastry. Crimp the edges and glaze the top with the beaten egg. Remember to pierce a hole in the top of the pastry. You can now leave the pie in the fridge to cook later, or cook immediately.

8. Preheat the oven to 180°C, and place the pie in the oven to cook for 20 to 25 minutes, depending on the size of the dish. Take out of the oven and serve. At this time of year, this recipe will work brilliantly with crushed Jersey royals or served with lovely rich buttery mashed potatoes.