My Chicken & Ham Hock Filo Pie is a lighter way to enjoy a pie, perfect for #BritishPieWeek. A delicious creamy filling packed with chicken and ham hock and topped with crisp filo pastry. 

Pies are a British Institution. As a nation we do love our pies and this can be seen by just how many variations of pies there are. There are so many different pies out there with lots of variations of fillings and pastry used. 

Technically I think a pie is defined as a pastry lined dish usually topped with pastry. I however think pies can also just be topped with pastry. Apologies if this offends you but I’m still going to refer to my dish as a pie even though it isn’t pastry lined!

I do love a pie, they are comforting and delicious. I don’t associate pies with healthy eating however as the pastry is usually quite calorific. The fillings can also be quite rich which isn’t always what you’re looking for. 

This is why I came up with my Chicken & Ham Hock Filo Pie as a lighter way to enjoy a pie. Using filo pastry as a pie topping isn’t a new idea, but it is far lower in calories than a lot of other types. Not only is it healthier, but it is also far lighter and less dense than shortcrust pastry, for example. This makes this pie perfect for enjoying in spring and even summer. 

This pie is a great way to use up leftover roast chicken to make a completely new meal. If you don’t have any leftover chicken, you can do what I did and cook a few chicken thighs. The ham hock can be easily substituted to what you have to hand too. I love ham hock but haven’t found any to cook myself yet. Most supermarkets these days sell packs of cooked ham hock in the cold meat section. If you didn’t want to use ham hock, you could chop up some ham or add some cooked bacon lardons. 

Although this pie has a lovely creamy sauce, it is actually less than 400 calories per portion. For a creamy pie, personally I think this is pretty good. You can serve this with whatever you like, but I served it with tenderstem broccoli and rainbow carrots I saw in M&S. I wish I could get these carrots in my local shop because they were so delicious and gave the dish some lovely colour. 

Serves 4 

1 tsp vegetable oil
1 large leek, sliced
3 tbsp plain flour
1 ½ tbsp olive oil
250ml chicken stock
250ml milk
1 tsp thyme
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
½ tsp sea salt
Pinch of black pepper
¼ tsp mustard powder
150g cooked chicken, shredded
100g ham hock
5 sheets filo pastry
Spray oil 

1. Add the vegetable oil to a frying pan of a medium heat and add the sliced leek. Stir for approximately 10 minutes until soft 

2. Remove the leeks from the pan and set aside. In the same pan, add the olive oil and the flour. Stir to create a paste and cook for a minute 

3. Slowly add the chicken stock whisking to make sure it is all absorbed before you add more

4. Once all of the stock has been added, gradually pour in the milk and whisk to combine
5. Add the thyme, wholegrain mustard, salt, pepper and mustard powder and simmer for a couple of minutes until the sauce thickens 
6. After the sauce has thickened, add the cooked chicken, ham hock and leeks. Stir though to make sure everything is coated in the sauce

7. Preheat the oven to 180ºC (fan or 200ºC  non fan assisted)
8. Pour the pie filling into a dish 
9. Unwrap the filo pastry and crumple each sheet on top of the pie filling – this doesn’t have to be neat

10. Once the pie is completely covered with the filo pastry, spray thoroughly with oil and put in the oven for 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown

Pin for later