This recipe is a great home-cooked dish with tender chicken and colorful vegetables. You can change the vegetables according to the season and availability without having to make pastries from scratch.

This chicken and bacon pie will be an excellent center for family dinners. My granddaughter Abby and Grace helped me make a TV show.

For this recipe, you need a 1.75 liter/3 pint shallow, wide-bottomed heat-resistant pan with a diameter of approximately 25 cm/10 inches.

Raw material

Ø 3-4 celery sticks, diced

Ø 3-4 bay leaves, roughly sliced

Ø 4-6 skinless chicken drumsticks (thighs and drumsticks)

Ø 200ml/7fl oz dry white wine

Ø 300ml/10fl oz chicken broth

Ø 250g/9oz smoked bacon (about 7 slices), cut into small pieces

Ø 1-2 large onions, roughly chopped

Ø 50g/1¾oz butter

Ø 60g/2¼oz plain flour, plus extra dust

Ø 2 tablespoons full-fat French whipped cream

Ø 1 tablespoon granulated mustard

Ø 2 x 375 g package ready-made full butter shortcrust pastry

Ø 1 egg, beaten

Ø Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3.

2. Put the chicken drumsticks, celery and bay leaf in a large heat-resistant saucepan, pour the wine and stock, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, close the lid, and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the chicken legs are cooked and tender. Set aside to cool.

3. Once cooled, remove the meat from the chicken bones. Bones can be kept and used as inventory. Before transferring to a bowl, cut the meat into bite-sized pieces. Strain the stock, reserve the celery and discard the bay leaves, then measure out the liquid. You should have about 750ml/1 pint of 6fl ounces; if not, use a little extra stock or white wine to make up for this amount.

4. Heal a large frying pan and fry the bacon chunks over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Add the onions, cover, and fry for another 10 minutes until the onions are soft. Add the butter, stir until melted, then sprinkle in flour to make a batter. Pour the remaining liquid into the batter little by little, stirring while adding, and then stir at high heat until the sauce thickens.

5. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, reserved celery, whipped cream and mustard, stir well, and then add the chicken pieces. Scoop the filling into a heatproof pan and level the top. Let it cool down, cover it, and put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

6. At the same time, prepare pastries for the pie. On a lightly floured work surface, roll each pastry slice to a thickness of about 3 mm/⅛ inch. Cut each piece into long and thick ribbons, about 3 cm/1¼ inch wide. You need to do enough to cover the top of the plate, about 16 in total. Weave the ribbons together on a piece of baking paper until you have a pastry top large enough to cover your pie. Chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to harden or, if time permits, freeze until solid.

7. Remove the filling from the refrigerator and brush the edges of the plate with a few beaten eggs. Carefully slide the pastry grid off the baking paper and place it on the refrigerated filling. Trim the excess pastry on the edge and press lightly to seal.

8. Increase the oven temperature to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Brush the pastry with the remaining beaten eggs and bake for 30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and cooked and the chicken starts to bubble. Serve hot.