Chicken Pie With Sweet Potato Crust

This is comfort food. If you’ve lots of time, follow the recipe as given;
the sauce will be rich and the chicken will be tender and moist. But if
time is short, use a ready-cooked chick- en and tetra-pack chicken stock
and steam or boil the vegetables. It is important to use white-fleshed
sweet potato to make what is essentially a scone topping.

Put a No 10-13 chicken in a large saucepan. cover with water, add a third
of a tablespoon of dried tarragon (or a table- spoon of fresh), a pinch of
salt and bring to the boil. Reduce heat immediately to a gentle simmer,
skim off foam and poach gently until the chicken is just cooked. about 1
hour.

Twenty minutes before the end of cooking time add 200 g diced carrots and 5
minutes later 2 large leeks, sliced, and 200 g peas. When chicken is
cooked, drain off stock into another saucepan and boil hard to reduce for
10 minutes. Cool stock fast by sitting the saucepan in a sinkful of cold
water, then transfer to the freezer to set the fat so it can be skimmed off

Skin the chicken, remove the meat from the bones and chop. Put the chicken
and vegetables in a souffle or oven dish. Melt 50 g butter or margarine in
a saucepan and add 3 tablespoons plain flour to make a roux. Add 250 ml
chicken stock and 200 ml milk and cook gently, stirring, until the sauce
thickens. Add more stock if too thick. Pour over the chicken mixture.

Meanwhile cook and mash 250 g white-fleshed sweet potato and allow to cool.
Sift together 125 g plain flour, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon baking
powder. Rub in 125 g softened butter. Add a little water if necessary to
make a soft dough. (Or process the ingredients in a food processor, adding
the water if necessary.)

Tip onto a floured surface and with floury hands pat it out to fit inside
the top of the dish containing the chicken and vegetables. Place on top of
the chicken mixture. Bake in a 180 C oven for about 45 minutes or until the
top is golden.