Leeks get a lot of play in Irish cooking, being another of the vegetables that don't mind the island's cool climate, and can grow on poor ground with relatively little preparation of the garden or field. As a result they wind up being praised in early Irish poetry as "the friend of cooks", both for their versatility and for the extra punch of flavor they gave the various savory dishes in which they were used.

One favorite approach was to put them in soups or stews, and (by extension) in pies. This pie is one of the single-crust variety that are apparently descended from the cook's eternal quandary: "what do I do with all this leftover stew?" Sooner or later, some Irish cook hit on the idea of putting a reduced soup or stew into a pie dish and covering it with a pie-dough crust (or sometimes puff pastry), thereby giving it a new lease on life.

Eventually people started bypassing the pre-pie stew stage and simply made the pie from scratch. This recipe is one of that type. The ham or smoky bacon (probably more leftovers in the original versions...) gives a nice deep note to the lighter flavor of the chicken and the sharp touch of onions and leeks.

This recipe can be made in two different ways: to eat hot -- with the savory, cream-finished chicken stock in which the meat was cooked -- or adapted slightly so that the creamy stock will become a solid, savory jelly when the pie chills down. This way it can be served as a cold entree. (The original recipe depended on the natural gelatine of homemade chicken and ham stock to do the trick, but the results in this regard were always iffy depending on how good your stock was.)

Click on "read more" for the recipe and details.    

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces premade shortcrust pastry
• 1 chicken, about 1 3/4 kg or 4 pounds, jointed, chopped and boned
• 4 thick slices ham or gammon, chopped into chunks or short strips (Thick slices of streaky smoked bacon can be substituted)
• 4 large leeks, well cleaned and chopped
• 1 medium-sized onion or 2 shallots, finely sliced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Several pinches of nutmeg or mace
• 300 ml (1/2 UK pint) chicken stock
• 125 ml (1/4 UK pint) double cream

If you want to eat the pie cold instead of hot:

• 1 envelope plain unflavored gelatine
• 6 tablespoons boiling water (to dissolve the gelatine)

Make the pastry and leave it in a cool place to rest. (Or unwrap it if pre-made.)

In a deep 1 to 1 1/2 quart pie pan or similar ovenproof container, place layers of the chicken, the ham, the leeks, the chopped onion or scallions, and a sprinkled pinch of the nutmeg or mace, along with the salt and pepper; repeat until the dish is full.

Add the stock. Dampen the edges of the pie dish; then roll out the pastry to half an inch wider than the required size. Place the pastry over the pie, letting the edges hang down outside, and crimp down the top edge well against the edge of the pie dish with a fork. Make a small hole in the center of the crust. (This is for pouring in the cream or cream-and-gelatine later, so be careful to make it big enough to work with.) With trimmings from the rolled-out crust, make a few small leaf-shapes and decorate the top of the pie with them, laying one of them very lightly over the hole in the crust.

Brush the pastry lightly with milk and bake the pie in the center of the oven at 180° C, 350° F. If the top starts getting too brown too quickly, cover it with a sheet of dampened baking parchment / greaseproof baking paper.

When the pie is cooked, remove from oven and put aside. Gently heat the cream to steaming hot, being careful not to let it boil.

If you're going to eat the pie hot: carefully lift the pastry rosette protecting the hole in the top crust of the pie, and pour in the cream. Replace the pastry rosette and serve, possibly with boiled new potatoes, or a green salad on the side.

If you're going to eat the pie cold: Boil the 6 tablespoons of water, pour into a heatproof cup, and sprinkle in the gelatine, stirring constantly until completely dissolved. Add to the cream, stirring until completely incorporated. Then, as before, carefully lift the pastry rosette protecting the hole in the top crust of the pie, and pour in the cream and gelatine mixture. Replace the pastry rosette and set the pie aside to cool completely. Then refrigerate until the interior of the pie jells. Slice and serve cold with a green salad.

(Note: you can also make this pie in small individual sizes, in smaller pie dishes, whether you're doing the hot or cold versions.)