Chicken Pie with Eggs (Russian Kurnik)

This recipe for Russian chicken pie or kurnik is made with chicken, rice, hard-cooked eggs, mushrooms, and a flaky crust. It is often served at holidays, especially Easter. Kurnik varies from family to family. It can be made with two crusts or just a top crust; some recipes call for blini-like pancakes to separate the layers of ingredients; it can be round or rectangular in shape; and when it comes to the crust, well, anything goes. It can be made with pie dough, savory pastry dough, or puff pastry.

Cream Cheese Pastry:
4 oz (½ cup) unsalted butter, cold, cut into chunks
4 oz cream cheese, cold, cut into chunks
1 cup all-purpose flour, unbleached

Chicken Pie Filling:
2 cups water or chicken broth
1 cup rice, rinsed
2 large onions, thinly sliced
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 cup half-and-half cream
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup chicken broth
3 cups chicken, cooked and diced
2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground
4 large eggs, hard-boiled, finely chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh dill, chopped

Egg Wash:
1 large egg yolk
1 Tbsp. water

Make the Pastry:
Using the steel blade of a food processor, place all ingredients into the work bowl.

Process until dough forms a ball, 18-20 seconds. Chilling isn't necessary.

When ready, roll on a lightly floured surface to the measurements of the pan you are going to cover plus about 2" on each side. An ungreased 12x7" baking dish works well for this recipe.

Make the Filling:
Bring 2 cups water or chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. If using water, add salt.

Stir in rinsed and drained rice. Return to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed and rice is tender.

Uncover, fluff with a fork and remove from heat.

Meanwhile, melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet. Add onions and mushrooms, and sauté until onions are tender and somewhat caramelized.

Stir cornstarch into half and half and add to onions along with 1 cup chicken broth, bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer 1 minute.

Add chicken, parsley, salt, and pepper and mix thoroughly. Remove from heat.

In a medium bowl, mix the hard-cooked eggs with the dill, and set aside.

Preheat an oven to 400°F (200°C/180°C fan, Gas Mark 6).

Spread ⅓ of the cooked rice into the bottom of the ungreased pan then layer ½ of the chicken mixture and ½ of the egg-dill mixture. Spread on another ⅓ of the rice, the rest of the chicken mixture and the rest of the egg-dill mixture. Spread on the remaining rice.

Place rolled-out pastry crust on top. Turn the edges of overhanging pastry to the inside. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolk and water and brush the pastry with the egg wash.

Using the back of a fork, make decorative crisscross marks all over. Cut a slit in the center for an air vent. Alternatively, you can make fancy leaves or bird shapes out of leftover pastry dough to decorate the top.

Place dish on a baking sheet to catch any drips, and bake 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Cook's Notes:

• If using chicken, you can use rotisserie chicken, boiled chicken, or canned chicken.
• If boiling your own chicken, save the boiling water to cook the rice for added flavour.

Variations:

• Kurnik is a lot like Polish kulebiak, which is known as kulebyaka in Russian. So, salmon would be a good substitute for the chicken.
• Try sautéed cabbage for a vegetarian version of this recipe.