I seriously can't believe how much I have gone back on my summer of super-health. I mean, I have hardly got Pizza Hut on speed dial, but now that it has got all cold, I pretty much only want to eat hearty, creamy, stodgy things. Let's blame evolution not catching up with central heating.

This pie however, is a pretty good compromise. It looks like a pie, it fills you up good and proper like a pie, but it is still along the lines of something that wouldn't cause Gillian McKeith to have a heart attack if presented with. Almost.

Instead of encasing the pie filling in heart-clogging, arse-ripling pastry, the pie is topped with very thinly sliced potatoes, much like a gratin. This not only favours your health, but your schedule, as slicing up a spud will take you a lot less time than making pastry. Ready-made pastry might save you time, but it won't help your cholesterol.

The filling involves a broth-braised chicken and vegetable mixture, finished with a dollop of cream cheese, making it deliciously creamy, but good and healthy, and of course, very quick to prepare.

The full cooking time on this one isn't that quick (about 1 hour), but 45mins of that are in the oven, and the rest just needs to be thrown together.

Ingredients (serves 4)

500g of cooked free-range roast chicken (plan this dish ahead by buying a bigger chicken than you need when cooking a roast)

1 carrot, chopped into small chunks

1 leek, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, crushed

2 handfuls of chesnut mushrooms, sliced

500mls of chicken stock

100mls milk

1/2 a tub of low-fat soft cheese (such as Philidelphia)

2 large baking potatoes, sliced very thinly, like crisps.

olive oil

salt/pepper

Directions

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a deep frying pan, and add the leeks, mushrooms, carrot and garlic. Cook on medium for 5 minutes.

Add the stock and the milk and bring to the boil. Stir in the cream cheese and the chicken, and bubble for 5mins to reduce slightly.

Pour into a baking dish and top with the potatoes. Drizzle with olive oil and place in the oven at gas mark 5/200C for 45 minutes until golden. Test whether potatoes are cooked with a knife before serving.

Serve with peas.

Image via Chez Us