This Pithivier recipe is an incredible centrepiece for your festive table. With large discs of buttery pastry wrapped around a delicious chicken filling, it's bound to impress your friends and family!
The chicken filling is inspired by a family recipe for Chimichanga; shredded chicken in a sweet and spicy sauce cooked with bell peppers, kidney beans, and layered in the pastry with mozzarella and jalapeños. It's SO good, I hope you love it as much as we do!
For more winter warmers, check out my chicken pot pie recipe, shepherds pie recipe, or French onion cottage pie recipe, all perfect as cozy centrepieces at your table this season!
Jump to:
What is a Pithivier?
A Pithivier (pronounced pitiveeyeh) is a dome-shaped French dish made using two circular discs of puff pastry filled with either a sweet or savory mixture and baked until golden. It's such a wonderful centrepiece. Many recipes have multiple layers and require a lot of culinary skill, but this specific dish is simple to make!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Chicken: we're using chicken breast for this recipe and poaching it to then shred it. You could totally use chicken thighs for this recipe too (skinless and boneless).
White onion: you could use white or brown onion, whatever you've got on hand!
Garlic: fresh garlic is best for this recipe. This recipe uses 3 garlic cloves but if you're a huge fan of garlic, just add in as much as you want!!
Bell pepper: we're using a yellow and a red bell pepper for this recipe.
Tomato puree: this enhances the tomato flavour of our dish, you can omit it if you don't have it, but I'd highly recommend using it for extra umami!
Tinned tomatoes: you're going to want to buy chopped tinned tomatoes, not plum tomatoes or whole tomatoes.
Malt vinegar: this tangy flavourful vinegar is one of the key ingredients for this dish that give it it's unique flavour! If you don't have it, you could use apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar.
Sweet chilli sauce: not only does this add a bit of spice, but a lovely hint of sweetness too! Any kind of sweet chilli sauce is perfect! You could use sweet chilli jam too!
Chicken stock: we're using a chicken stock cube and then adding water to the pot.
Chilli powder: this is for those of you who like a bit of a spicy kick. Start with ½ teaspoon and then gradually move up to a teaspoon if you're unsure of how spicy your chilli powder is! Feel free to omit if you're not a fan of heat!
Puff pastry: store-bought puff pastry is perfect for this recipe, no need to make it from scratch!
Mozzarella: you could also use cheddar cheese for this!
Jalapeños: pickled jalapeños are hands down one of my favourite ingredients. They're tangy, spicy, and are the perfect way to layer our pithivier! Feel free to omit if you're not a fan of spice!
The full list of ingredients and measurements is at the bottom of this blog, just scroll down to find the recipe card!
Step by Step Instructions with Photos
Step 1: Place a saucepan of water on medium heat. Add in the chicken breast and once the water is boiling, reduce the heat and leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a chopping board. Shred the chicken and set aside.
Step 2: Meanwhile, place a large pot on medium heat and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Once hot, add in the onions, garlic, and red bell peppers. Fry for 10 minutes until slightly softened. Add in the tomato paste and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
Step 3: Pour in the tinned tomatoes, malt vinegar, sweet chilli sauce, chicken stock cube, 400ml water, and 1 teaspoon chilli powder (go easy on this depending on your spice tolerance!!). Stir to combine, then add in the kidney beans and shredded chicken. Stir to combine, and leave to simmer for 10 minutes. Taste and season accordingly.
Step 4: Now, it's time to separate the chicken chimichanga and the juices. Place a large bowl on your kitchen surface, then place a large sieve on top of the bowl. Pour the chimichanga chicken filling into the sieve and let the juice drip into the bowl below. You want the chicken mixture to be as dry as possible, so use a spoon to push the liquid through.
Step 5: Slice a piece of the puff pastry into a circle around 10 inches in diameter. Using tongs, create a 1 inch layer of chimichanga chicken filling on the base of the puff pastry, leaving a 1 inch edge around the pastry.
Step 6: Add a layer of mozzarella and pickled jalapenos, then top with a final layer of chicken filling, creating a dome shape. Use paper towels to soak up any excess juices!
Step 7: For your second pieces of puff pastry, cut out a 14 inch diameter circle. Delicately place the piece of puff pastry on top of the chicken filling, and then pressing and sealing the top layer to the edge of the base layer. I highly recommend going around the edge of the pithivier and folding the pastry in on itself to create a sealed fold so the juices don't escape. Slice a little cross at the tip of the pithivier so the steam can escape. Brush the pastry with eggwash, then place in the oven for 30 minutes (preheated oven 200c fan / 425F) until golden brown.
Step 8: Once the pithivier is puffed up and golden remove from the oven. Time to heat up your excess juices (from your bowl) in the microwave or in a pan until piping hot.
Step 9: Slice the pithivier and divide between plates. Drizzle over the chimichanga sauce and enjoy, my friends!
What To Do with Leftovers
If you've got leftover chimichanga filling: I love storing any leftover chicken filling in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3 days, then serving it with rice!
If you've got leftover pastry: make sure to store in airtight containers and in the fridge for up to 3 days and use it for a variety of festive baked goods! An idea would be to create cheese and ham puff pastries (make little squares or wheels, or twists!)
If you've got leftover pithivier: place in airtight containers and into the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, place in the microwave (lid ajar) and heat until piping hot. The pastry will go a bit soggy, but will still taste delicious!
FAQs
It should be tangy, sweet, slightly spicy, with heavy notes of tomato coming through!
We want to remove as much liquid from the filling as possible, because the more liquid there is, the harder it will be to assemble the pithivier. Use a spoon to push through the liquid, for around 5 minutes.
Once the puff pastry layers are in place, press the puff pastry around the edge of the pithivier to seal, then to go the extra mile, fold the two layers inwards towards the pithivier filling, and pinch to seal, then run this pattern around the whole of the pithivier to create a pretty pattern.
If you tried this Pithivier or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thank you!
Pithivier Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1 white onion finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 bell peppers thinly sliced into strips
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 400 ml diced canned tomatoes (chopped tinned tomatoes)
- 1 tablespoon malt vinegar see ingredients and substitutions section further up the blog for options!
- 2 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce
- 1 chicken stock cube
- 1 teaspoon chilli powder go easy if you're not a lover of heat!
- 400 g kidney beans or black beans
- 2 sheets puff pastry
- 125 g mozzarella cheese ball sliced
- 1 tablespoon pickled jalapeños more or less depending on your love for spice
- 1 egg whisked, for egg wash
Instructions
- Place a saucepan of water on medium heat. Add in the chicken breast and once the water is boiling, reduce the heat and leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a chopping board. Shred the chicken and set aside.
- Meanwhile, place a large pot on medium heat and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Once hot, add in the onions, garlic, and red bell peppers. Fry for 10 minutes until slightly softened. Add in the tomato paste and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour in the tinned tomatoes, malt vinegar, sweet chilli sauce, chicken stock cube, 400ml water, and 1 teaspoon chilli powder (go easy on this depending on your spice tolerance!!). Stir to combine, then add in the kidney beans and shredded chicken. Stir to combine, and leave to simmer for 10-30 minutes. Taste and season accordingly.
- Now, it's time to separate the chicken chimichanga and the juices. Place a large bowl on your kitchen surface, then place a large sieve on top of the bowl. Pour the chimichanga chicken filling into the sieve and let the juice drip into the bowl below (we'll be using this later as our sauce!!). You want the chicken mixture to be as dry as possible, so use a spoon to push the liquid through (this should take around 5 minutes).
- Preheat the oven to 200c fan / 425F. Slice a piece of puff pastry into a circle around 10 inches in diameter (place on a baking tray with a piece of parchment paper under the puff pastry). Using tongs, create a circular 1 inch thick layer of chimichanga chicken filling on the base of the puff pastry, leaving a 1 inch edge around the pastry (see step by step photos further up this blog or the video tutorial!).
- Add a layer of mozzarella and pickled jalapenos, then top with a final layer of chicken filling, creating a dome shape. Use paper towels to soak up any excess juices!
- For your second piece of puff pastry, cut out a 14 inch diameter circle. Delicately place the piece of puff pastry on top of the chicken filling, and then press and seal the top layer to the edges of the base layer. I highly recommend going around the edge of the pithivier and folding the pastry in on itself to create a sealed fold so the juices don't escape. Slice a little cross at the tip of the pithivier so the steam can escape. Brush the pastry with eggwash, then place in the oven for 30 minutes until golden brown.
- Heat up your excess juices (from your bowl) in the microwave or in a pan until piping hot. Once the pithivier is puffed up and golden, remove from the oven.
- Slice the pithivier and divide between plates. Drizzle over the chimichanga sauce and enjoy, my friends!
Leave a Reply