Brazilian Chicken Pie
17th June 2014
After all those questions about the differences between Brazil and Cornwall we’d worked up an appetite. Luckily Aline was on hand with a traditional Brazilian pie and we’d brought some traditional Cornish treats in the form of pasties and cream teas.
Brazilian chicken pie or torta de frango, in Portuguese, is very different to a British pie. Usually served cold, it can be eaten with hands, much like a pasty. Substituting gravy for a light cream cheese sauce, this is the only thing you should be eating on match days during the World Cup.
Serves 8
Ingredients
Pastry
600g plain flour
500g margarine
1 egg
Pinch of salt
(Can buy pre-made shortcrust pastry to save time)
Filling
1kg chicken breasts
2 onions
4 cloves of garlic
1 can of sweetcorn
2 chicken stock cubes
250g cream cheese
100ml tomato sauce/ passata/ chopped tinned tomatoes
2 dessert spoons of corn flour
Chopped parsley
Other ingredients such as mushrooms or olives can be added if you wish.
Method
Pastry
Place the flour and salt into a bowl and add cubes of butter.
Combine with your fingertips until you achieve a texture of coarse breadcrumbs with no butter remaining.
Break the egg into the mix and bind.
Wrap the dough in clingfilm for 10-15 minutes before using.
Filling
Meanwhile boil the chicken breasts in water with stock cubes until its tender.
Once cooked, remove the chicken from the stock and shred.
Chop the onions and garlic cloves and saute in olive oil until the onions are soft.
Add the shredded chicken and saute for a few more minutes.
Add sweetcorn to the mix plus the tomatoes and any other ingredients you want to use.
Add the two dessert spoons of corn flour and stir until the sauce thickens.
Finally add the cream cheese and parsley and stir once more.
Set aside to cool.
To construct
Set aside a quarter of your pastry and roll to about 0.5cm for the lid of the pie.
Roll the remaining pasty to, again 0.5cm thick and place a greased oven proof dish.
Once the filling is cold fill the pastry dish evenly. Place the pastry lid on top and seal the edges.
If you have any pastry left over you could decorate the pie.
Coat the lid with an egg wash and place in the oven for 40-45mins at 180 degrees or until the pastry has turned golden brown.
Let it cool down before you serve so the filling stays together. You can then enjoy this pie whilst watching the football!
And if you fancy whipping up some homemade pasties check out our recipe here.
