• Free Trial
  • Get the Juice
  • Donate Now
Grapevine Magazine
  • Recent Mag
  • Sponsor
  • Library
    • Magazines by Year
    • Articles by Year
    • Articles by Category
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • History
    • FAQs
    • Feedback
  • Contact
  • Book
Select Page
Michaels Famous Chicken Pie

Eat well for less

FAMOUS CHICKEN PIE plus APRICOT COCONUT SLICE
Michael van de Elzen & Ganesh Raj

THE NEW ZEALAND VERSION of Eat Well for Less was a big hit and had a huge impact on the families involved. This book gives all the recipes from series 1 and 2, plus tips and tricks on tasty, easy and economical cooking from the hosts Michael Van de Elzen and Ganesh Raj.

Includes nearly 70 recipes from light meals and snacks, to main meals and sweet treats – from chicken sliders to lamb moussaka or beef noodle salad to mixed berry frozen yoghurt with choc-almond topping.

Also includes ideas on smart shopping, nutrition, kitchen tips, and a peek at the participants from series 1 and how they fared after the cameras stopped rolling. Did the lessons they learned stick?!

MICHAEL’S FAMOUS CHICKEN PIE

This dish should be renamed ‘Bee’s famous chicken pie’ after my wife, as it’s her go-to dish on a cold winter night. You can easily adapt this to your taste – feel free to add in loads more vegetables like peas, pumpkin or corn!

MAKES 1 BIG FAMILY-SIZE PIE

Ingredients

  • 1 cooked free-range chicken
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • pinch each of salt and black pepper
  • 1 leek
  • 50g butter
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
  • 50g standard flour
  • 300ml milk
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 sheets puff pastry, thawed
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Start by picking all the meat off the bird, and set it aside. (Keep the chicken carcass to make stock!)

Thinly slice the leek, place in a colander and rinse thoroughly. Once leeks are well-drained, gently heat the oil in a large pot. Add in the leek, salt and pepper and cook, stirring regularly, until soft. Remove from the pot and set aside.

Add butter to the pot, then add garlic and cook gently, stirring, until soft. Stir in flour and cook, stirring, over a medium heat for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and gradually add first measure of milk, stirring well between additions. Once all the milk has been added, return to the heat and cook for a further 1–2 minutes, stirring, until the sauce thickens. Add the leek, chicken meat, peas and mustard and stir well to combine.

Spray a family-size pie dish with cooking spray and place one sheet of pastry in the bottom. Spoon in the chicken mix. Lay the second sheet of pastry over the top. With your fingers, press the two sheets of pastry together around the edges and then trim any excess.

Whisk together egg and second measure of milk to make egg wash. Prick the top sheet of pastry with a fork and brush with egg wash. Bake pie for 25–30 minutes.

Delicious served with homemade tomato relish and baby spinach leaves.


Apricot Coconut Slice

GANESH’S APRICOT COCONUT SLICE WITH TOASTED CINNAMON ALMONDS 

Your kid’s lunch box is sorted with this simple but delicious snack. Chewy, fruity and crunchy, this recipe will make enough portions to store some away for the week. With no baking, you can get the kids involved with this one. It’s tactile and fun!

MAKES 16 SLICES

Ingredients

  • 300g digestive biscuits
  • 300g dried apricots, chopped finely
  • 150g butter
  • 2 tbsp coconut sugar
  • ½ cup desiccated coconut, plus extra for topping
  • 2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
  • ¾ cup sliced almonds
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon

In a food processor, blitz biscuits and place in a large bowl. Add chopped apricots and mix briefly. Line a medium-sized tray with baking paper.

Place butter and sugar in a microwave-safe bowl and cook on high for 1 minute, then leave to fully melt. Pop it back in and cook in 10-second bursts if not fully melted. Once melted, pour into biscuit mix and add desiccated coconut and condensed milk. Mix well – if need be, get your hands in there to make sure it’s really well combined. Press mixture into prepared tray.

Place almonds, honey and cinnamon in a pan over a medium heat and toast for 5–7 minutes, stirring often.

Sprinkle extra desiccated coconut on top of the biscuity mix in the tin, then sprinkle the almonds on top. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.


Eat Well For Less by Michael Van De Elzen and Ganesh Raj, Published by Random House NZ, RRP $35.00, Photography by Jae Frew.

Latest Issue & Articles:
Issue 1, 2023

Issue 1, 2023

Going Places

Where in the world would we be without gardens
by John Cooney

Under One Roof

Multi-family living
by Tracy Carter

Stillpoint

A wish-list for my Grandson
Keepers of the vine

Sacrosanct Suds

Choosing Love in a Laundromat
By Tara Couture

Home Sweet Home

How to buy a souvenir
by Guy Browning

Gluten-Free Mediterranean

Chicken Shawarma PLUS Pita Bread & Toum
By Helen Tzouganatos

Sponsor

  • Donate Now
  • Sponsor
  • Free Trial

About

  • Meet the Team
  • History
  • FAQs

Mag Library

  • Recent Mag
  • Magazines by Year
  • Articles By Year
  • Articles by Category

Get the Juice

Sign up to our enewsletter and keep up to date!

Follow Us

  • Follow
Copyright Grapevine Magazine. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions. Made with love by Husk & Ampersand Creative.