Video summary

CHICKEN & MUSHROOM PIE | The special trick | John Quilter

Main summary

Key takeaways

Cooking

Presenter / Channel

  • John Quilter (“The special trick”)
  • Features guest: Joel

Ingredients

Filling

  • Mushrooms: basic mushrooms
    • (Video suggests chanterelles/portobello can be more “fancy,” but instructs to use basic mushrooms.)
  • Onion — medium dice
  • Leek — diced down (for sweetness)
  • Thyme — pulled through (amount not specified)
  • Chicken — “the rest of the chicken from the chicken carcass” (amount not specified)
  • Butter — “a nice big knob”
  • Olive oil — about 1 teaspoon
  • Bechamel sauce — added to bind/moisten
    • Don’t add too much: you don’t want the filling too wet
  • Strong cheddar — “on top” (also described as the “star power”)
  • Salt — to taste
  • Freshly cracked black pepper — to taste

Optional substitution

  • Use leftover turkey instead of chicken (for Boxing Day)

Pastry / Assembly

  • All-butter puff pastry
  • Greaseproof paper (for blind-baking)
  • Flour (for rolling dust/handling)
  • Baking beans (for blind baking)
  • Water (to help pastry seams/water “go around” to form the case)

Equipment / Prep

  • Dry pan
  • Cutting board / knife
  • Baking tray (with greaseproof)
  • Pastry tools:
    • Greaseproof rolling pin
    • Metal ring / mould (used to cut discs and form pie cases)
    • Cartouche (paper insert technique to help cut circular shapes)
  • Oven
  • Cheese grater
  • Knife (to trim pastry after cooling)

Step-by-Step Method

1) Mushroom flavor boost (toasting/dehydrating) — key step

  1. Slice mushrooms.
  2. Put mushrooms in a dry pan over medium heat.
  3. Cook until they:
    • char/toast, and
    • have >90% moisture gone
  4. Remove mushrooms from the pan.

Technique cue: dehydrating + toasting intensifies mushroom flavor.

2) Build onion/leek base and season with aromatics

  1. In the same pan, add:
    • Butter (“big knob”)
    • Olive oil ~1 tsp
  2. Add onions (medium dice). Cook about 1 minute.
  3. Add leeks and cook until:
    • onions have a little color
    • everything is translucent
  4. Add thyme; cook 1–1.5 minutes.
    • Cue: listen for crackle (“time releasing all its flavor”).

3) Add chicken and bind with bechamel + mushrooms

  1. Add chicken to the pan and mix so it takes on heat/flavors.
  2. Add bechamel, mixing in.
    • Key caution: don’t add too much (avoid filling being too wet).
  3. Add the toasted mushrooms back in.
  4. Season with:
    • salt to taste
    • freshly cracked black pepper to taste
  5. Taste (described as roasted chicken + intense mushrooms + creamy bechamel + leek/onion sweetness + thyme).
  6. Add strong cheddar (“star power”), then add extra on top later.
  7. Set filling aside.

4) Blind-bake the puff pastry cases

Pastry prep

  1. Roll all-butter puff pastry to about pound-coin thickness.
  2. Create 2 discs and 2 strips (use the ring to cut and guide thickness).
  3. Make matching circles for greaseproof using a cartouche fold-and-cut trick.

Form cases

  1. Place ring on greaseproof-lined baking tray.
  2. Lay a pastry disc in the ring; fold/turn so it sits in the ring.
  3. Brush/press water around the edge to help seal/shape.
  4. Extend the rim slightly using the rolling pin (one direction then the other).
  5. Fit in the second disc and press to shape a case.
  6. Add strips to build height; press outward so it goes all the way out.
  7. Use the cartouche to push pastry down so it fully fits.
  8. Fill with baking beans until beans reach near the top (push into corners).

Alternative if no beans:

  • Cover with cling film over greaseproof, then add flour/rice, fold back to help shrink pastry.

Blind bake

  1. Bake at ~170°C for ~20 minutes.
  2. When pastry starts to go golden, remove and cool to the touch.
  3. Remove beans and trim excess pastry around the ring edge to extract clean cases.

5) Fill, top with cheese, and bake again

  1. Fill pastry cases with the chicken/mushroom bechamel filling.
  2. Bake again, emphasizing cheese topping:
    • Grate cheese on top
    • Bake 10–12 minutes until cheese is golden and bubbling
  3. Serve hot.

Chef Tips / Common Pitfalls

  • Don’t skip the mushroom pan stage: dry pan cooking until >90% moisture evaporates is the key to deep flavor.
  • Bechamel caution: “Don’t add too much” to prevent a too-wet filling.
  • Blind-baking support: use beans (or cling film + flour/rice workaround) so pastry doesn’t rise.

Serving / Plating Notes

  • Not served with chips
  • Described as ideal for Boxing Day, with gooey cheesy, toasty cheddar and a leftovers theme.

Variation Discussed

  • Boxing Day leftover turkey: substitute turkey for chicken.

Original video