Coronation Chicken Pie

Coronation Chicken Pie is a rich, hearty pie filled with tender cubes of chicken, potatoes, carrots, green peas, leafy spinach, with mangoes and raisins. The filling is first cooked in a broth of coconut with curry and Greek yogurt. Pile the flavorful curried chicken filling into the flaky, buttery 2-crust pastry and bake. Serve this pie fit for royalty with a side salad of greens, and a pot of piping-hot tea. This was inspired by a recipe from my mother Lulu Reyes Besa, and the BBCGoodFood website, and adapted for The Quirino Kitchen by Elizabeth Ann Quirino.

Cook Time1 35

Total Time1 35

Course: Brunch, Dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Merienda

Cuisine: Asian, British

Keyword: Coronation Chicken Pie

Servings: people

Calories: 312kcal

Author: The Quirino Kitchen - Elizabeth Ann Quirino

Equipment

Mixing bowls
Measuring cups and spoons
Food processor
Rolling pin
Large saucepan - 14 inches diameter
Pie plate - 9-inches diameter; 2-inches deep

Ingredients

For 2-crust pie pastry:

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ cup unsalted butter, chilled
½ cup Crisco shortening, chilled
5 to 6 Tablespoons iced water

For chicken pie filling:

2 to 3 pounds boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes; about 3 pieces large chicken thighs
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 to 2 whole shallots, chopped
½ teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 whole medium-sized red or green bell pepper, chopped
1 whole large potato, peeled, cubed 1-inch pieces
1 whole medium-sized carrot, peeled, sliced
1 ½ cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon curry powder (I used Pamana brand)
1 container (8 ounces) coconut milk
1 cup green peas
1 cup cubed fresh or frozen mangoes; must be fully ripe; if fresh use Mexican variety of mangoes
1 cup raisins
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1 cup Greek yogurt
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper powder

For brushing on pie pastry:

¼ cup milk

Instructions

To make the 2-crust pie pastry:

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder.
Add the chilled butter and Crisco. Cut with a pastry blender or else pulse in a food processor. The texture should look like little peas.
Pour the iced water a tablespoon at a time.
Process the pastry dough in the food processor until it is smooth.
Divide the dough into 2 disks and wrap each one with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the disks at least overnight before using. Or if preferred, store in the freezer till ready to use.
The next day, when getting ready to bake, preheat the oven at 350 F degrees.
Roll out one pastry disk to fit the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan.
Prick the bottom crust with a fork in several places. Place parchment paper on top of the crust, enough to cover it. Place pie weights or dried beans on the paper. This prevents the pastry from puffing up while baking.
Bake the bottom pie crust at 350 F for 15 minutes till slightly brown.
When done, take the pie plate out of the oven. Set aside while preparing the filling.

To cook the chicken filling:

Wash the chicken thighs well. With a sharp knife, cut into uniform-sized 1-inch cubes. Set aside.
In a large, deep saucepan, over medium heat, add the vegetable oil.
Saute the garlic, shallots, ginger for 2 minutes till fragrant. Add the bell pepper. Continue to saute for 1 minute more.
To the saucepan, add the cubed chicken, the potatoes and carrots.
Pour the chicken broth.
Add the curry powder. Blend ingredients well so that the curry is incorporated all over.
Pour the coconut milk. Cover and simmer over medium heat till the chicken and potatoes are tender and soft, for about 35 to 40 minutes. Stir the mixture every so often, to avoid the coconut milk from curdling or sticking to the bottom of the pan. Lower heat if the stockpot starts to get too hot.
When chicken and potatoes are cooked, add the green peas, mango cubes, and raisins. Add the baby spinach. Gently mix everything together.
Add the Greek yogurt. Season with salt and pepper.
Turn off the heat and remove the saucepan from the stovetop. Let the chicken cool on the counter till it is manageable enough to fill in the pie crust, about 30 minutes.

To assemble and bake the Coronation Chicken Pie:

Preheat the oven at 375 F degrees.
Take the pie pan with the pre-baked bottom pie crust.
Pile the cooked chicken filling into the pie pan. Set aside.
Roll out the second pastry disk on a floured surface.
Brush the edges of the bottom crust with milk. This helps seal both bottom and top crust together.
Place the entire second pastry crust over the pie plate filled with the chicken mixture.
Seal the moistened edges of the pie crust with a fork or your fingers.
Using a fork, prick the top crust with tiny holes in several areas.
Brush the top with milk, to achieve that golden-brown look after baking.
Bake in the preheated oven of 375 F for 35 minutes, or till top of the pastry is golden brown.
Take out of the oven, slice individual servings, and serve while warm.
*Note: To reheat, I put the pie in the oven toaster for about 8 to 10 minutes, at 325 F.

Cook's comments:

For leftovers: If there are leftovers of the pie, cover with foil or plastic wrap and keep refrigerated. This lasts up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Or if frozen, up to 1 month.
For ingredients: I prefer to use frozen mango fruit for this recipe because the firm texture bakes better than fresh mangoes, which tend to get mushy and lost inside the filling. Some recipes use mango chutney instead of fresh or frozen mangoes. And the BBCGoodFood website recipe used dried mangoes, which are great, too. Feel free to use what is conveniently available.

Nutrition