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“Torta de frango” or “empadão” (big “empadinha”) is a very popular dish which probably came from Portugal, where the “pastelaria” (pastry know-how) is an old tradition. There is a lot of different “salty pies” around the world, such as the famous “Melton Mowbray Pie” (English) and the “Chicken Pie” (American).
The “salty pies” consist of a crust of dough stuffed with a rich and flavorful creamy filling. This is the salty dough recipe that my grandmother taught my mother, but you can also use the salty short pastry with eggs, the short pastry or the puff pastry.
The “Savory Mini Pies” and the “Mini Cheese Pies” are variations of this recipe.

Ingredients

For the filling:
• 900 g chicken thigh skinless, or 500 g leftover roast chicken (skinless and boneless)
• 50 g chopped onion
• 1 clove of garlic minced
• 150 g peeled and chopped tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• salt and pepper
• 25 g all-purpose flour
• 100 ml milk, approximately
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 100 g pitted green olives
• 100 g fresh or frozen green peas
• 2 chopped hard boiled eggs

For the pastry:
• 450 g all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 150 g butter
• 2 small eggs
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 -3 tablespoons milk, if necessary

To brush the top of the pie:
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
Springform cake mould about 24 cm in diameter

Preparation method

Preparation of the filling:
1. Heat the butter and the oil, and sauté the onion, the garlic, the chicken and the tomatoes. Season with salt, cover the pot with a lid and let it cook until very tender.
2. Remove all the bones from the chicken and cut and shred the meat into small pieces.
3. Add the flour and the chopped parsley and mix well.
4. Add the milk, cook stirring constantly till the mixture thickens. The filling must be creamy; if necessary add more milk.
5. Remove from the heat, add the green peas, the olives and the hard-boiled eggs cut in cubes. Season with salt and pepper. Mix, set aside and allow it to cool while you prepare the pastry.

Preparation of the pastry:
1. In a bowl mix together the flour, salt and the baking powder.
2. Shape the flour into a mound, make a well in the center and add the butter at room temperature. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a knife.
3. Add the oil and the eggs and mix the “liquid” ingredients with a fork.
4. Add a little flour at a time mixing with a fork until a crumble mixture is formed.
5. Knead the crumble mixture with your hands, without overworking the dough. If necessary, add a little milk.

To assemble the Chicken Pie:
1. Divide the pastry into 2 pieces, one twice the size of the other.
2. Roll out the smaller piece of pastry between two sheets of grease-proof paper or plastic film into a 24 cm diameter disk to cover the pie.
3. Roll out the remaining pastry in the same way as above, and line the springform cake mould. Use your fingers to press the extra pastry around the edges a little bit, and trim off the excess pastry around the edges with a pastry cutter. If the filling hasn’t cooled down, leave the mold lined with the pastry to rest in the fridge.
4. Fill the pie crust. Cover with the top crust (first pastry disk) and fold edges over to seal.
5. Brush the surface with beaten egg yolk and olive oil. Trim excess dough for decorating top if you wish.
6. Bake in preheated oven at 190° C for about 35 minutes, until golden brown.

Posted on: 11 November 2012