Cacio e Pepe Chicken Pie

Make the pie filling

• Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan.
• Dice the onion and carrots. Crush the garlic. Slice the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces.
• Heat a dash of oil in a frying pan on a medium heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Then add the chicken and cook until golden brown, around 5 - 7 minutes.
• Scatter in the flour and mix well. Make up the stock cube with 500ml boiling water. Pour in the stock with the black pepper and 2/3 of the cheddar. Stir well again then leave to simmer gently for 5 minutes. Check the seasoning and adjust to how you like it.
• Add the cream and peas and cook for 2 minutes to heat through. Transfer the pie filling to an ovenproof dish (we used a 25cm round pie dish).

Slice the pastry into the patchwork rectangles

• Meanwhile, unroll the pastry onto its sheet. With a sharp knife, slice the pastry into small rectangles (around 3 x 6cm) - don't worry about them being perfect, the beauty of this is that they don't need to be! Pop the pastry back in the fridge while you finish the pie filling.

Assemble & bake the pie

• For best results and to stop the pastry melting on top of the pie, if you have time, leave the filling to cool a little before you top it. Arrange the pastry rectangles in a single overlapping random pattern on top of the filling. Don't worry about them being neat! Brush the pastry with the beaten egg.
• Bake the pie in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden and bubbling.

Plate Up

• Leave the pie to stand for a few minutes before serving. Plate up with the mixed leaf salad and enjoy!