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Hoenderpastei
Hoenderpastei: old Cape chicken pie with allspice, sago and boiled egg under puff pastry
Church bazaars from Paarl to Graaff-Reinet sell hoenderpastei by the slab, and a family-sized dish turns up at Christmas lunch and funerals alike. Under its puff pastry lid sits shredded chicken in a pale, silky sauce scented with allspice, cloves and a little nutmeg, with slices of boiled egg tucked through it. Sago is the old trick here: soaked and cooked in the stock, the little pearls swell into a glossy thickener that sets as the pie cools, so slices hold their shape. Serve it with geelrys, buttered green beans and a sharp beetroot salad. Chef's tip: let the filling cool before the pastry goes on; a hot filling melts the butter in the pastry and the lid bakes flat instead of rising into flaky layers.
- Total time
- 120 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 3 ⅓ lb bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticksskin on
- 1 onionquartered
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 5 cups water
For the sauce
- 1 ⅜ oz sago
- ½ cup cold water
- 1 oz butter
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 3 eggshard-boiled, peeled and sliced
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley (optional)chopped
For the lid
- 14 oz all-butter puff pastrychilled
- 1 eggbeaten, for glazing
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Method
0/12 doneStep 1: Soak 1 ⅜ oz sago in ½ cup cold water in a small bowl while the chicken cooks, so the pearls soften and turn cloudy.
30 minStep 2: Put 3 ⅓ lb bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks, 1 onion, 6 allspice berries, 4 whole cloves, 2 bay leaves, 10 black peppercorns and 1 ½ tsp salt in a large pot with 5 cups water. Bring to the boil over a high heat and skim off the foam.
10 minStep 3: Cover, lower the heat and simmer gently until the meat pulls easily off the bones and reads at least 165°F in the thickest part of a thigh.
40 minStep 4: Lift the chicken out onto a board to cool. Strain the stock and measure 600 ml back into the pot; keep any extra for soup.
Step 5: Bring the 600 ml of stock to a simmer over a medium heat, stir in the soaked sago with its water and cook, stirring often, until the pearls turn clear and the stock thickens to a pouring sauce.
10 minStep 6: Pull the chicken into bite-sized pieces, discarding the skin and bones. Stir it into the sauce with 1 oz butter and ¼ tsp ground nutmeg and take the pot off the heat.
Step 7: Whisk 1 egg yolk with 1 tbsp lemon juice in a cup, stir in a ladle of the hot sauce, then stir it all back into the pot off the heat. Don't put it back on the boil, or the yolk will curdle into specks.
Step 8: Spoon half the filling into a 24 cm pie dish, lay 3 eggs over it, scatter with 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley if using and cover with the rest of the filling. Leave to cool for at least 20 minutes, until no longer steaming.
20 minStep 9: Heat the oven to 400°F (350°F fan). Roll 14 oz all-butter puff pastry on a sheet of baking paper to about 3 mm thick and 3 cm wider than the dish.
Step 10: Brush the rim of the dish with ⅓ egg, lay the pastry over and press it onto the rim. Trim, crimp the edge with a fork and cut two small slits in the middle to let steam out.
Step 11: Brush the lid with the rest of ⅔ egg and bake until the pastry is puffed and deep golden and the filling bubbles at the slits.
30 minStep 12: Let the pie stand for 10 minutes so the sago sauce sets slightly before you cut it.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 610 kcal
- Protein
- 36 g
- Carbs
- 34 g
- Fat
- 36 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does hoenderpastei take?
- About 120 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 90 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of whole cloves?
- Ground cloves, ¼ tsp for every 3 whole cloves.
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