Food History

More from Sharyn. She’s writing us a series, in fact, so you can get a real sense of what catering and family and family foodways are in her tiny corner of rural Australia. Don’t forget to visit her at Eneit Press and find out what she’s up to when she’s not cooking!

“A christening might not be what most people associate with the Anzac weekend, but it has both sentimental and practical reasons for being chosen. Practical, because a long weekend allows our interstate guests to be able to get here; sentimental, because amongst the letters and keepsakes I inherited from my grandmother, is a post card, with a beautifully hand embroidered flower, and a robin redbreast in flight. The chain-stitched letters spell out To My Dear Father, and a brief message, scrawled on the back was the first indication my great-grandparents had that their eldest son had survived Gallipoli. It seems fitting that his youngest great-grandsons should be christened on that weekend.

My grandparents were married in 1920, Granddad had returned from the war ill, and wounded, and used his Soldiers Allotment to purchase land at Leneva. When they married they ran a poultry farm there. Which leads me to today’s recipe – one of the main meal dishes I’ll be preparing next weekend.

Chicken, Leek, and Tarragon Pie

Filling:
50g butter
2 tbs plain flour
1 leek, ends trimmed, washed and thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups chicken stock (I use Oxo cubes if I don’t have fresh stock – that’s just a personal favourite)
1/2 cup cream
1 tsp dried tarragon.
Pinch of white pepper
1 large ready cooked chicken, (again, just because it’s homemade doesn’t mean cheats aren’t available) skin and bones removed, meat shredded

Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat until foaming. Add leek and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until the leek softens. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until mixture bubbles. Remove from heat. Gradually add stock, whisking until smooth.
Whisk the cream, tarragon and pepper into the flour mixture. Season with salt, and stir in the chicken. Set aside to cool completely.

Thaw out three sheets of frozen short crust pastry. Line a 22cm (base measurement) springform pan with silicone baking paper, and then line with two sheets of the pastry, allowing sides to overhang. Spoon the chicken mixture into the pan. Shape the remaining sheet of pastry to fit the top, and then enclose the filling by folding down the overhang of the base. Cut vent holes in the center, brush lightly with either an egg wash, or milk, and bake on lowest shelf of oven for 35 minutes or until crust crisp and golden. Set aside to cool slightly. Can be served cold or warm, but at this time of year, and with this being for an evening meal, mine will be served warm.

Dad tells me Grandma used to make a similar version topped with potatoes; I might have to try that one day. ”