I’m sure this recipe must have come to me from Pinterest, and the original recipe is from Pardonmyfrench.com. The first time I made it I followed Audrey’s recipe exactly. It was good, but I wanted a little more spice. The second time, I had tons of leeks so I made a few tweaks, (added leeks instead of onions and added red pepper flakes). Samir came for a visit this afternoon and tried a bit off the spoon. He asked if it was on the blog, and that’s when I knew it was a keeper. So Samir – here you go!

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1″ pieces
½ tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp (60g) unsalted butter, divided
2 strips bacon, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
1 lb (450g) Portobello mushrooms, sliced
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
6 cups leeks, chopped and washed
6 Tbsp (50g) all-purpose flour
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1½ tsp dried thyme
3/4 cup + 1Tbsp (195ml) water
3/4 cup + 1Tbsp (195ml) milk
2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
2 (13-oz [370-g]) packets ready-rolled puff pastry, thawed for a good 40 minutes.
1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp (15ml) milk

Directions:

It seems like a lot of steps, but it’s actually pretty simple. For the filling, you’ll cook the meats first, then the veggies. Then you make a white sauce and dump everything back in. So don’t be scared by the directions!

On medium high heat, heat olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter in a frying pan. Add bacon and cook until fat has rendered – at least a few minutes. Season chicken thigh pieces with salt and pepper and add to frying pan. Cook for several minutes, until chicken is cooked through and starting to brown a bit.

Remove chicken and bacon to a plate, leaving any bacon drippings and other oil. Add mushrooms, and cook for several minutes, until they have released their water and dried up again. Remove to chicken plate. Add a tsp more olive oil if needed and add leeks. Sauté leeks stirring frequently, until they have wilted and reduced a good bit. Remove from pan to chicken plate.

Mix flours and seasonings in a small bowl, and have ready.

Add 3 Tbsp butter to frying pan and melt. Add flour and seasonings and stir quickly for a minute. Add water and milk and stir vigorously until you get a smooth, thick consistency. Cook for several minutes stirring constantly until the roux has thickened up a good bit.

Add Dijon Mustard and stir well. Then add the chicken, leeks and mushrooms back in and and stir. Check seasoning – adding salt and pepper if needed. Take off heat.

Preheat Oven to 410 degrees.

Line a springform pan bottom with parchment paper. You can also line a cast iron skillet. Lay the Puff Pastry into the pan. If you’re picky, you can kind of roll it out first so it covers the bottom and sides. Prick with a fork all over.

Add filling and smooth it so it’s fairly even. Take top piece of puff pastry and lay over the top of the filling. Squeeze the top and bottom pastry edges together gently wherever you can.

Mix egg yolk with 1 Tbsp milk and brush over the top of the pastry. If your pastry is totally sealed (top and bottom) cut a 1″ slit in the top crust to let steam escape.

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake another 20 – 25 minutes until the crust is nice and golden brown.

Remove from oven, and use a butter knife around the outside edge of the pan. Release the pan side and cut wedges to serve. So good!