Little Jack Horner's Christmas Chicken, Fruit and Stuffing Pie!

"This beautiful layered pie combines all my favourite Christmas flavours - chestnuts, cranberries, dried apricots, chicken, pork sausagemeat and bacon - all encased in a crispy and crumbly pastry case; it is a firm favourite in our house EVERY year! Not only that, but this pie is actually better if made ahead of time - it can be eaten warm or cold and is excellent for buffets and light suppers. It also freezes very well, once cooked. The filling is very similar to an English Pork Pie, a fruity stuffing mixture layered with chicken fillets. Although it is essentially a pie for the winter festive season - I see no reason why it cannot be made all year around - I often make it to take on picnics in the spring and summer. You can adjust the filling to suit your own tastes and requirements, but I think that the chicken, bacon, apricots, cranberries and chestnuts are essential for the delicious and unique flavour this pie has! N.B. Please try to use high meat content sausages or sausagemeat - it makes all the difference to the taste, plus cheaper sausages have lots of fat and bread added! Where the name came from - an old Nursery Rhyme: "Little Jack Horner sat in a corner, eating his Christmas Pie - he put in his thumb and pulled out a plumb, and said what a good boy am I"!!! I JUST had to name it after him, even though there are NO plumbs in this pie! (The original recipe was in a 2005 BBC Good Food magazine; this is my much amended version of that original recipe.)"
 
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photo by French Tart photo by French Tart
photo by French Tart
photo by Derf2440 photo by Derf2440
photo by French Tart photo by French Tart
photo by French Tart photo by French Tart
photo by French Tart photo by French Tart
Ready In:
1hr 45mins
Ingredients:
15
Yields:
8-10 Slices
Serves:
8-10
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ingredients

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directions

  • Heat the oven to 170C/350F/Gas 5.
  • Grease and line a 20-23cm (9") springform or deep loose-based tart tin with baking parchment or greaseproof paper.
  • Heat 1/2 tbsp oil in a frying pan, then add the onion and the bacon, fry for 5 minutes until the onion is softened and the bacon browned. Cool slightly.
  • Tip the sausagemeat, lemon and orange zest, breadcrumbs, apricots, chestnuts and thyme into a bowl and mix together.
  • Add the onion, bacon and cranberries, then mix everything together with your hands, adding plenty of pepper and a little salt to taste.
  • Cut each chicken breast into three or four fillets lengthwise and season them all over with salt and pepper. Heat the remaining oil in the frying pan, and fry the chicken fillets quickly until browned, for about 6-8 minutes.
  • Roll out two-thirds of the pastry to line the springform or loose-based tart tin; make sure the pastry comes right up the sides of the tin, and extends over the edge of the tin a little bit. Press in half the sausage mixture and spread to level. Then add the chicken pieces in one even layer and cover with the rest of the sausage mixture. Press down lightly.
  • Roll out the remaining pastry, leaving a little pastry for the decorative shapes. Brush the edges of the pastry base with beaten egg and cover with the pastry lid. Pinch and crimp the edges to seal, then trim.
  • Brush the top of the pie with egg, then roll out the excess pastry trimmings to make holly leaf shapes and berries. Decorate the pie with the shapes and brush again with egg.
  • Set the tin on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, then cool in the tin for 15 minutes. Remove the pie from the tin, and leave to cool slightly. If you wish, you can place the pie back into the oven at this stage if you would like a darker crust - just sit it on a greased baking sheet and bake for a further 10 to 15 minutes.
  • Serve warm or cold with a winter salads, chutneys, relishes and pickles.
  • Can be frozen once cooked for up to 1 month. Defrost in the fridge overnight.

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Reviews

  1. If I could give this more than 5 stars I would. It is a fabulous special pie; the combination of flavours is superb. I made it for Christmas eve supper and it was a total hit with the family. It was so good everyone thought we should make it a tradition to have for our family Christmas eve get together. The only thing I had to do different from the recipe was to use water chestnuts rather than regular chestnuts which were not available, even so they gave it a nice crunch. I also may have made the crust just a little too short but it did hold together and cut very nicely; pretty as FT's picture. Thanks sooo much for this wonderful wonderful recipe which I know will be made for many future Christmas Eves, maybe even for other occasions too!!
     
  2. AMAZING! Making it again for the second time. The most unique dish I have ever made. Thanks!
     
  3. Took a long time to make, however this pie was the highlight of our holiday table, we all thought the flavor and color of the fruit was impressive. we used craisins and canned chestnuts. I saved lots of your recipes and this was a holiday hit, thanks for the unusual and tasty pie, i love pies and this delivered on taste and looks. next time we make it we may try turkey meat and some ham. Thanks for a great recipe.
     
  4. Looked impressive. Was enjoyed by all on Christmas Eve. If I were to make again I would omit the cranberries.
     
  5. I made this for a brunch. Everyone liked the diverse flavor. I also had to use water chesnuts (like Derf) because they were not available. Thank you for the post. And... your title is so cute.
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p><strong><span>The sunflowers in the field behind my house in SW France:</span></strong></p> <p><img title=Sunflowers src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/DSCN8221.jpg alt=Sunflowers width=640 height=480 /><br /><strong><span><br /><br />I am British (English-Scottish), but I was born in South Africa and have lived all over the world, including Hong Kong, Germany, Cyprus, USA &amp; Singapore. I have also been very fortunate to have travelled extensively over the years.........I still have wanderlust! <br /><br />I used to be an English Literature &amp; Art History teacher &amp; lecturer; before that, I trained and worked as a Graphic Designer for many years. I now live in France with my husband &amp; my daughter who has just started university in September 2006. We also have one very chatty Burmese cat Willow, who allows us to live with her here! (I used to have three cats, I recently lost Monty, a beautiful seal point Siamese and before that, Rama, who was a debonair blue point Siamese cat - I would love to have another Siamese cat or cats in the future!)</span></strong></p> <p><em><strong><span>This is my Burmese Cat, Willow, sunning herself on the log pile in the kitchen garden:</span></strong></em></p> <p><strong><img title=My src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/ABaconButtyandSundryFoodPhotos34.jpg alt=My width=640 height=480 /></strong></p> <p><strong><span>Here is my lovely Monty, a seal point Siamese, and Willow, sitting&nbsp;in the kitchen garden last year, and a few months before Monty died; he was 18yrs old:</span></strong></p> <p><img title=Monty src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/AbsolutelySinfulStickyToffeePudding.jpg alt=Monty width=640 height=480 />My</p> <p><strong><span>This is my wonderful old boy, Rama, a blue-point Siamese, who died when he was 20yrs old - excuse the old and much sellotaped photo:</span></strong></p> <p><img title=Rama src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/Rama1stOctober2004164.jpg alt=Rama width=517 height=639 /></p> <p><strong><span>My favourite pastimes are: reading, writing, painting &amp; drawing, photography, gardening, anything creative, walking, travelling, dining out and of course COOKING! I love all types of cuisine, but especially Traditional British - and NO it is NOT all bad!! I particularly love food associated with the changing seasons plus traditional feasts &amp; festivals, as well as Slow Cooking. I also enjoy French &amp; North African cuisine, come to think of it, there isn't much I don't like! <br /><br />My husband &amp; I run a Chambres D'Hotes, (Bed and Breakfast) called Auberge de la Fontaine here in beautiful South West France; we specialise in Gourmet Food &amp; Wine Breaks, French Antiques &amp; Restoration courses, French Language courses and French Cookery classes. Our home is completely furnished with Antique French furniture that we have rescued &amp; restored ourselves. Our charming village has one of the oldest Churches in the region &amp; it is famous for its connection with the St.Jacques de Compostella Pilgrimage route, as well as being within the Cognac &amp; Bordeaux wine growing area. <br /><br />We have a wonderful garden where we grow ALL of our own herbs and most of our fruit and vegetables. I specialise in rare, unusual and old-fashioned herbs, which I grow in our walled garden. As well as growing herbs, I also grow many different varieties of lavender, old-fashioned shrub roses and heirloom fruit and vegetables. <br /><br />We have lived overseas for many, many years now - but we both still love going home to Northern England, near Scarborough &amp; York, to visit our family &amp; friends. 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I am always very humbled by anyone who chooses to make one of my recipes, and I love reading the reviews and seeing the beautiful photos that are posted. Merci beaucoup encore! <br /><br />A note about my recipes. All of my posted recipes, whether they be my own concoctions or adaptations from a book or a famous chef, have been tried and tested at least once, by ME! I try to make sure that I am the guinea pig and not you! However, if there is anything you would like ask me about one of my recipes, or a query that I may be able to help you with, please do write and I will try to answer your question as soon as possible. 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