Off Duty Chef: Chicken & mushroom tart

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 5 chicken breasts
• 4 large Portobello mushrooms
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 200ml cream
• 1 egg white
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• Handful fresh tarragon
• Handful thyme
• 1 lemon
• 2 sheets of ready made puff pastry
• 1 whole egg

Method

1. Begin with your chicken breasts, chop them into even sized chunks, you should get 5 chunks from each breast. Hold back one breast to make the chicken mousse. Place your chicken chunks in a bowl, cover and store in the fridge. For the last breast, dice it into small chunks and place in a blender along with the salt, egg and cream. Blend until a smooth mousse is formed and store covered in the fridge.
2. Now to cook the mushrooms. Place a non-stick pan on the heat and add some vegetable oil, peel and quarter the mushrooms and add to the pan. Cook over a high heat for 2 to 3 mins until they have released their water and firmed up. Remove from the heat and season with the soy sauce. Allow to chill in the fridge for 20 mins.
3. Now to bring together the pie filling. Add the chicken mousse and chilled mushroom quarters. Season with more salt, pepper and some lemon zest. Pick the tarragon and thyme leaves and add this to the mix. Give it all a good mix.
4. Line a small frying pan or shallow bowl with cling film and place the pie filling inside, pack it down so it's flat and fills all the corners. Allow to rest in the fridge for at least 30 mins.
5. While that is chilling, lay out the first puff pastry sheet on a baking parchment, cut a large circle and retain the excess pastry for decorating later. Lightly egg wash the base before removing the now chilled pie filling from the clingfilm and turning it out onto the pastry base. Use the second sheet of pastry to drape over the top of the pie.
6. Carefully use your hands and fingers to seal the pastry around the edges of the base, leaving no air pockets. Trim the excess using a circular cutter or upturned tart case.
7. Using a brush, brush the pastry with egg yolk and chill in the fridge for 10 mins before repeating the process again. At this point you can add decoration.
8. To bake the pie, preheat the oven to 240c and place a cast iron pot or heavy based tray inside to preheat. Remove the pie from the fridge 30 mins before cooking. Place a sheet of parchment on the pot/tray before carefully adding your pie. Drop the temperature to 210c and cook for 30 mins until dark golden brown. Rest for 15 mins before slicing.