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Ingredients

• For the chicken
• 6-8 chicken thighs
• 2 celery sticks, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 onion, chopped
• For the filling
• 50g butter
• 6 rashers smoked streaky bacon, rind removed, cut into chunks
• 2 leeks, chopped
• 2 carrots, finely chopped
• 2-3 celery sticks, halved lengthways and thinly sliced
• 50g flour
• 150ml Stella Artois Unfiltered
• 100ml double cream
• 200g wild garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• For the pastry
• 2 sheets all butter puff pastry
• 1 egg, whisked
• fennel seeds, to decorate

Method

1. Season the chicken thighs, then cook in a heavy-based saucepan until browned. Once caramelised, add the celery, carrot, bay leaves and onion, then top up with water to cover the chicken. Gently simmer with the lid on for about 30 mins until the chicken is just cooked through, then remove from the pan and leave to rest. When cool enough to handle, strip the meat off the bones, place in a bowl and set aside. Return the bones to the pan, then leave gently simmering.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Heat the butter in a large pan, then add the bacon and cook until the fat starts to melt. Next, add the leeks, carrots and celery, along with a ladle of the simmering bone broth, then put the lid on and cook until tender. When ready, add the flour and mix well, cooking for about 3-5 mins until it smells a little biscuity, then add the Stella Artois Unfiltered and mix again – it will look like a claggy mess!

3. Now, add the broth a ladle at a time, stirring until it’s completely mixed through before adding the next ladle to ensure it’s lump-free – you want a creamy consistency, but bear in mind it will thicken as it cools. Once happy with the consistency, add the double cream, chicken meat, wild garlic and mustard. Mix thoroughly and allow the heat to relax the wild garlic, then season to taste.

4. Line a large tray with baking parchment, roll out 2 sheets of puff pastry and cut each into 4 squares, so you have 8 in total. Place a generous ladle of the chicken mixture onto one half of each square, leaving room at the edges for folding. Fold the pastry in half over the filling, making a triangle, then crimp the edge with a fork to create a seal. Brush the pastry with the egg wash, then sprinkle with fennel seeds and season. Pierce a hole in the top of each, then cook for about 20-30 mins until the top is golden and puffed. Allow to cool for 10 mins before tucking in, enjoy!

Top tip: You can freeze half of the uncooked pasties and save them for a rainy day. They’ll be ready to cook from frozen – you’ll just need to increase the cooking time, of course.

Extra tip: This delicious filling also works well for a classic chicken pie. You’ll just need more broth for a looser sauce, then you can serve it in a pie dish topped with puff pastry.

Ingredients

• For the kebabs
• 4 chicken breasts or 6-8 boneless thighs, cut into chunks
• 2 tbsp natural yogurt
• 2 tbsp harissa paste
• 1½ unwaxed lemons, sliced
• 4 pitta breads
• For the tahini sauce
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• ½ lemon, juiced
• 120g tahini
• 1 tbsp natural yogurt
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• For the salad
• 2 cucumbers, cubed
• 2 large beef tomatoes, cubed
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• small bunch of parsley, finely chopped
• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ½ lemon, juiced

Method

You will need 4 metal or wooden skewers

1. Add the chicken to a bowl and spoon over the yogurt and harissa paste. Season, then add a dash more harissa, if needed, and mix well before leaving to one side to marinate for at least 1 hour or ideally overnight.

2. To make the tahini sauce, add the garlic and lemon juice to a bowl and leave for 5 mins – the acidity of the lemon will relax the heat of the garlic. Add the tahini and mix until it forms a claggy paste. Keep mixing, then add 110ml of water little by little, until you have a smooth, runny consistency, before adding the yogurt. Crush the cumin with some flaky sea salt in a pestle and mortar with flaky sea salt, then sprinkle generously over the tahini mixture. Add a little more salt or lemon juice to taste.

3. If cooking over fire, now’s a good time to light your charcoal. For the salad, add the cucumber, tomato and most of the red onion to a large bowl. Add the parsley, then season with a big pinch of salt, half the olive oil and half the lemon juice. Mix well, then have a taste – you can add the remaining onion, olive oil and lemon juice, plus extra seasoning, if you like. Cover, then set aside.

4. If using wooden skewers, soak in water first so they don’t burn. Skewer the chicken, then add a slice of lemon every 3-4 pieces – it will caramelise, adding a lovely, sweet acidity to the kebab, but don’t add too much or it can dominate.

5. When the heat of the fire has calmed down, it’s ready to cook on – you should be able to hold your hand over the fire for 5-7 secs. Lay the skewers over the fire and cook slowly, turning them when needed, building up a gentle caramelisation. Cook for about 10-15 mins, the slower the better. You can pull off a piece of chicken to check it’s fully cooked. Set aside when ready, away from the heat, to gently rest. Warm the pittas over the fire – I like to splash them with a bit of water. Cut open, stuff with half the chicken from a skewer, pour over the tahini sauce, top with the salad, then repeat. Tuck in and enjoy!

Ingredients

• 850g braising steak, cut into large chunks
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 large brown onions, diced
• 5 sticks of celery, halved lengthways and roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
• handful of bay leaves
• handful of thyme
• 1 glass of red wine
• 5 medium carrots, thickly sliced
• 1l quality beef stock
• handful of dried porcini mushrooms
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 sheet of all butter puff pastry
• 1 egg, whisked, for brushing
• buttery mash and lemony greens, to serve

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Season the steak well with salt and pepper and set aside for 30 mins to allow the salt to penetrate the beef. Heat the oil in a large heavy based saucepan and add the steak. Fry until caramelised all over – you may need to do this in two batches – then remove.

2. In the same pan, sauté the onions, celery, garlic and herbs, scraping off any caramelisation from the bottom of the pan. Deglaze with the red wine, then return the beef to the pan and add the carrots. Barely cover with beef stock, then add the porcini and season. Cut a circle of baking parchment and press onto the liquid to seal the pan. Cover with a lid and place in the oven to cook for around 2 hrs, until the beef is tender and falls apart with a spoon. Stir in the mustard, then adjust the seasoning to taste.

3. Place the cornstarch in a small mug, add 2 tbsp of cold water and mix well to form a slurry. Reduce the heat of the pan to a gentle simmer, then stir through the cornstarch slurry for a few mins until the pie mix thickens and forms a glossy gravy that coats the meat. If the gravy still looks a little thin, make more of the cornstarch mixture to thicken further.

4. Pour the mix into a large pie dish, or a few smaller dishes for individual pies. Drape over the puff pastry, brush with the egg, then bake for 30 mins or until golden brown. Serve with buttery mash and some lemony greens.