Making a pie from scratch doesn't have to be a lengthy or complicated task. Despite many slow-cooked, multi-step recipes, there's an easy one-pot alternative that's perfect for fans of the humble chicken pie. It swaps puff pastry for lighter, filo pastry sheets, which are scruffily layered on top for a rustic finish. As for the filling, it is creamy and fresh with the addition of seasonal greens.

The "delicious" Good Food recipe promises to "minimise washing up", and it takes just 40 minutes to make from start to finish. For the herby twist, you'll need spring onions, spinach, parsley, and tarragon, which is in season right now. If you're growing tarragon at home, pick a bunch for this recipe and continue to pick from the shoot tips regularly for "fresh young growth", says the Royal Horticultural Society.

Method

Pre-cooked chicken thighs are what make this recipe so quick, but you can swap them out for 400g of shredded roast chicken if you have leftovers.

Once you have sourced your cooked chicken, preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.

Take a large, shallow casserole dish and heat it with some oil on a medium heat. Add the spring onions and fry for three minutes until fragrant and tender, then stir through the frozen spinach.

Cook the spinach for two minutes or until it’s starting to wilt, then prepare your chicken.

Remove the skin from the chicken thighs and discard it, then shred the chicken off the bone and into the casserole dish.

Discard the bones. To flavour the pie filling, stir through the stock and mustard, then bring to a simmer. Cook the pie filling uncovered for five to 10 minutes.

Now add the frozen peas, crème fraîche and fresh herbs, taking care to add the leaves only and discard the stems.

Remove the casserole dish from the heat, then take your pastry sheets ready to assemble the pie.

Once the pie filling has cooled a little, scrunch the filo pastry sheets over the mixture to form a golden topping.

Brush with a little oil to ensure a crispy finish and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.