Chicken and Leek pie filling

A few days ago, Pete and I were talking about how awesome I am (we do this a lot), and he mentioned that I had once made a really tasty chicken and tarragon pie. I'm sure I did, but I have no memory of how I made it or what went in it. I seem to remember it had mushrooms in maybe? That does sound like something I'd do. Anyway, I decided to make something similar, but since I didn't have any mushrooms this is done with leeks instead. Practically the same thing.

You will need:

2 large chicken breasts
1 medium sized leek
1-2 tsp dried tarragon
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
3 tbsp creme fraiche
Splash of white wine if you've got any open

Wash and chop the leek. Start frying it in a saucepan on a low heat in a little olive oil or butter, and add a pinch of salt and pepper.

Cut the chicken breasts into strips and add to the saucepan. Add the tarragon and the lemon juice and zest. The wine too, if you're using it.

Continue cooking on a low heat until the leeks are soft and the chicken is cooked through - about 15-20 min. Stir the creme fraiche through until everything is mixed together.

Mmmm... mush

 Now, you'll have noticed I haven't mentioned anything about pastry or pies. That's because right then I didn't particularly fancy making pastry, and honestly, I just made this delicious chicken stuff so I think it's a bit cheeky to ask me to do even more for you. God. But the good thing about the above mixture is you can use it in a whole bunch of ways. I had it as a sauce on pasta, but here's a few more variations you can make.

I used conchiglie pasta. Because that was what was in the cupboard.

- Use it as a pie filling using shortcrust pastry. As the filling is already cooked you don't need to put it in the oven very long. I blind bake the base for ten minutes on GM 5-6 first, then add the filling and the top and cook for a further ten minutes.

- Add two eggs to the mixture, put in a casserole dish and sprinkle breadcrumbs on the top, then cook for around 25 minutes on GM 5 for a light chicken bake.

- Add about a pint of chicken stock for a hearty cream of chicken soup.

- Take the leftovers from the fridge and heat up in the microwave without removing from the tupperware tub. Eat straight from the tub while watching 'Charmed'. Pause to shout at Shannon Docherty.

And many more! Probably!