Chicken Pie

Peel the onion and put in a large pot. Add one of the chickens and just cover with water, and add some slightly crushed peppercorns and a teaspoonful of salt.

Bring to the boil and simmer the chicken covered for around 45 minutes. Take out the chicken, and add the second one and similarly cook for 45 minutes.

Skin the sausages if necessary and put in a bowl. Add one or two egg yolks, some black pepper, a teaspoonful of salt, and a handful of chopped fresh chives. Mix well together with a fork, and put in the fridge for half an hour or so.

Make the sausagemeat into walnut sized balls with your hands and coat with seasoned flour. Fry the balls in batches in a little oil until golden brown all over. Put on kitchen paper to remove any surplus fat.  Picture  

Make a cream veloute sauce as in the following steps. Remove 2½(1¼)pints/1½(¾)litre of the chicken cooking liquid. Strenthen with a stock cube if needed and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Make a roux with 8(4) tablespoonfuls of flour combined with 6(3) tablespoonfuls of butter in a sausepan. Slowly stir in the milk over a low heat. Follow this with the chicken stock stirring all the time. Increase the heat and stir until the sauce has thickened.

Season the sauce with salt and pepper, it needs to be well seasoned otherwise the pie will be bland. Stir in 8(4) tablespoonfuls of cream and re-season.

Peel the mushrooms, discard the stalks, half or quarter if need be and quickly cook in some butter for a few minutes. Ada little cayenne pepper to the gill side of the mushrooms.

Cut the flesh off the chickens, discarding the skin and the thighs and wings. Cut into strips about the size of your little finger.