Chicken cobbler with two golden cheddar scones on a bed of shredded chicken and vegetables | Herb Fed Poultry

Chicken Cobbler

  • Whole Chicken
  • 4
  • 65
  • Easy
Have you seen the chicken cobbler doing the rounds on social media? It’s a chicken pot pie made easy: all the comfort of a classic pie, without the pastry. This is my take, made from scratch with the leftovers from a Sunday roast. If you’re short on time, our Herb Fed Poultry Gravy, a Bronze winner at the Great British Food Awards, does the job beautifully. I bake the scones separately, but you can pop them straight on top of the filling for a one-dish bake (see the tip below).

Ingredients

For the filling

  • 300g leftover Herb Fed roast chicken, shredded
  • 400ml leftover gravy, or Herb Fed Poultry Gravy
  • 25g butter
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 2 carrots, finely chopped
  • 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • A few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked
  • 4 cubes of frozen spinach
  • Salt and black pepper

For the cheese scones

  • 160g self-raising flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • Pinch of salt
  • 40g cold butter, cubed
  • 120ml buttermilk
  • 5 tbsp finely grated strong cheddar
  • 1 egg, beaten, to glaze

Method

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 180°C and line a baking tray.
  2. For the scones, put the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a bowl. Rub in the cold butter with your fingertips until the mix looks like fine breadcrumbs.
  3. Stir in the buttermilk to make a soft dough. Then mix in most of the cheese, saving a little for the tops.
  4. On a floured surface, roll the dough out to about 2.5cm (1 inch) thick and cut into rounds. Put them on the tray, brush with beaten egg and sprinkle over the rest of the cheese. Bake for about 20 minutes, until risen and golden.
  5. Meanwhile, make the filling. Melt the butter in a heavy-based pan over a low to medium heat. Gently cook the onion, carrot and celery until soft.
  6. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for another minute.
  7. Stir in the gravy and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the frozen spinach and the chicken, and simmer until the spinach has thawed and the chicken is piping hot all the way through. Season to taste.
  8. Spoon the filling into a warm dish or bowls, top with the scones and serve.