What you need to do:

Method

Pastry:Cut the butter into smaller pieces and crumble it into the flour. Add cheese and knead the pastry lightly with milk. Place covered in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Filling:Peel the asparagus from the top towards the bottom and cut off the hard bottom. Cut the peeled asparagus into approx. 2 cm pieces. Bring the water to the boil in a saucepan and add asparagus, chicken and salt. Boil, covered, over a low heat for approx. 1 min.

Stir together flour and half of the milk in a bowl. Add remaining milk and add this thickening mixture to the asparagus while stirring. Boil over a low heat and while stirring for about a minute. Season with pepper. Pour the mixture into a tart tin (approx. 24 cm).

Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to make a large round shape (approx. 27 cm). Place the pastry over the filling as a lid and press the edge well. Cut off the surplus pastry and use it as decoration on the lid. Bake the asparagus pie in the centre of the oven for about 30 minutes at 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6.

And another thing...

As an accompaniment serve each portion of pie with a mixed salad of round soft lettuce, sliced green asparagus and flat leaved parsley.

And if you’re unlucky enough to miss out on fresh asparagus, this recipe still works well with tinned white asparagus. Leave to drain in a sieve.