Chicken, chorizo & potato pie

I wanted to make a pie with chorizo sausage in it, and try a new combination of ingredients, and this pie popped up in my searching. I made some modifications that I would come to regret. Because I was in low-effort mode I used shortcrust pastry which ended up horribly crumbly. Next time I'll use (rough) puff pastry that'll have more structural integrity and suit the pie better. It'll be worth putting in that extra effort of rolling and folding.

Also, no photo because I plumb forgot, sorry!

Pastry Which Did Not Work

1. 2 cups plain flour
2. 160g butter chopped into chunks
3. 1 egg

Blend the flour and butter until the texture is like grainy sand. Then blend in the egg until the whole mixture clumps. In the future, I would also add some water to give the pastry some sticking power. The above mixture was far too crumbly, and I ended up having to knead it slightly to have it hold together at all when being rolled out. Even then it cracked far too easily.

Filling Which Did Work

1. 400g potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm pieces
2. 2 chicken breasts, cut into 2cm pieces
3. 1 chorizo sausage chopped into thin slices
4. 1 leek thinly sliced
5. thyme and rosemary
6. optional whisked egg

Method

1. Place the potato and water in a large heatproof microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Cook in microwave on High/800watts/100% for 8 minutes or until just tender. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook half the chicken, stirring, for 4-5 minutes or until light golden and almost cooked through. Transfer to a heatproof bowl. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
3. Add chorizo to pan and cook, turning occasionally, for 3-4 minutes or until light golden. Add leek, thyme and rosemary and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes or until the leek is soft. Add the potato and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until well combined. Transfer to the bowl with the chicken. Toss gently to combine. Set aside for 30 minutes to cool slightly.
4. Preheat oven to 200°C. Line 1 large baking tray with non-stick baking paper or use a non-stick baking tray. Roll out half the pastry and place on the tray. Place half the chicken mixture in the centre of the pastry and shape to form a circle, leaving a 3cm border. Fold pastry edge over the filling to partially enclose, leaving the centre of the pie open. Repeat with remaining pastry and chicken mixture to make a second pie. Brush the pastry edges with egg if you like.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the pastry is cooked through. Set aside on the tray for 5 minutes to cool slightly.

Even with the pastry disaster, it was very tasty :-)