Chicken and Leek with Bacon (Printable)

Savory chicken and leek filling with bacon in creamy sauce, topped with buttery puff pastry

# What You’ll Need:

→ Poultry & Meat

01 - 1.1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
02 - 3.5 oz smoked bacon lardons or diced bacon

→ Vegetables

03 - 2 large leeks, cleaned and sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
04 - 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
05 - 2 celery stalks, diced
06 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
07 - 1 small onion, finely chopped

→ Sauce & Dairy

08 - 3.5 tablespoons unsalted butter
09 - 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
10 - 1 2/3 cups whole milk
11 - 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chicken stock
12 - 1/3 cup heavy cream
13 - 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
14 - 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
15 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

→ Pastry

16 - 1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry, approximately 11.3 oz
17 - 1 large egg, beaten for egg wash

# How-To:

01 - Preheat oven to 400°F with rack positioned in the center.
02 - In a large frying pan over medium heat, cook bacon until golden and crisp, approximately 5 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and transfer to paper towels.
03 - In the same pan, add chicken pieces and brown on all sides for 5 to 6 minutes until golden. Transfer to a clean plate.
04 - Add butter to pan, then incorporate onions, leeks, carrots, and celery. Sauté for 8 to 10 minutes until softened. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 additional minute.
05 - Sprinkle flour over vegetables, stirring continuously for 1 minute to cook out raw flour flavor and create a paste-like consistency.
06 - Gradually pour milk and chicken stock into roux base while stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Bring to gentle simmer and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until sauce thickens to coat the back of a spoon.
07 - Fold cooked bacon, chicken, heavy cream, Dijon mustard, and thyme into sauce. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
08 - Transfer filling to pie dish with 1.6 quart capacity, spreading evenly.
09 - Unroll puff pastry and lay over filling. Trim excess pastry around edges and press perimeter firmly to seal. Cut 3 to 4 small slits in top surface for steam ventilation. Brush entire surface with beaten egg.
10 - Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until pastry is deep golden brown and crisp. Allow pie to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

# Expert Hints:

01 -
  • The smoky bacon adds this incredible depth that elevates it beyond any ordinary chicken pie you might have tried before.
  • The sauce thickens into this velvety blanket around the chicken and vegetables that somehow stays creamy even after baking.
02 -
  • Cooling the filling for those 10 minutes before adding pastry prevents the dreaded soggy bottom that I discovered after rushing this step during my first attempt.
  • Adding the stock and milk gradually rather than all at once completely transforms the texture of the sauce, something I learned after a lumpy disaster early in my pie-making journey.
03 -
  • Pat the leeks dry with a paper towel after washing to prevent excess water from diluting your sauce, a trick my grandmother taught me that makes all the difference.
  • Adding a tablespoon of cold butter cut into tiny pieces over the filling just before topping with pastry creates little pockets of richness that melt during baking.
Go back