Place the chicken in a large pan. Stud the onion with cloves and add it to the pan with the carrot
bay leaves
stock cube and peppercorns. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil
then reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked. This will take about 45 minutes–1¼ hours
depending on the size of the chicken.
Meanwhile
make the pastry. Sift the flour and salt together into a large mixing bowl. Dice the cold butter and vegetable shortening and rub them into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mix in just enough cold water to form a stiff dough. Turn this out onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently to form a smooth ball of dough. Wrap in clingfilm or place in a plastic bag and chill for at least 30 minutes.
When the chicken is cooked
take the pan off the heat. Remove the chicken and place it on a plate. Put the pan back on the heat and reduce the cooking liquid to about 250ml/9fl oz. Strain the reduced liquid into a jug and leave to cool
then skim off the fat and discard it.
When the chicken is cool enough to handle
cut the meat into chunks and discard the skin and bones.
For the sauce
remove the cloves from the onion. Put the onion in a food processor with the reserved stock. Blend until smooth
then add the milk and set aside.
Melt the butter in a pan and stir in the flour. Gradually add the stock and milk
then bring to the boil
stirring continuously. Reduce the heat and simmer for 4-5 minutes to cook out the taste of the flour. Season
to taste
with salt and freshly ground black pepper
then fold the meat gently into the sauce. Set the mixture aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 220C/210C Fan/Gas 7. Roll out two-thirds of the pastry and use it to line a 20–25cm/8–10in pie plate and add the cooled chicken mix.
Roll out the remaining pastry to make a lid for the pie
brush the edge with beaten egg and pinch the edges together to seal.
Decorate the top of the pie with leaves made from pastry trimmings and brush all over with beaten egg. Make a hole in the top of the pie to allow the steam to escape
then bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes
