Four British comfort food recipes, from chicken pie to spotted dick

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Four British comfort food recipes, from chicken pie to spotted dick

As London leans back into hearty, old-school cooking, head chef Mike Reid of the new Liverpool St Chop House shares four dishes that capture British comfort at its most indulgent

Mike ReidFriday 28 November 2025 06:00 GMTCommentsopen image in galleryA proper winter pie: flaky pastry, deep flavour and the kind of roast-chicken comfort every cold evening deserves (Liverpool St Chop House & Tavern)

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There’s something in the air this season – and it’s not just the smell of woodsmoke or the first whiff of mulled wine drifting from a premature Christmas market. London seems to be rediscovering its appetite for old-school comfort, the sort of dishes our grandparents would have called “proper” and newer restaurants are branding as “heritage”.

Even one of the city’s newest openings, Liverpool St Chop House, is rummaging through recipe books from the 1600s, serving suet puddings and “pea soope” with the swagger of modernity. The timing feels apt. As the evenings draw in and jumpers get thicker, we all start craving the kind of food that anchors you – slow, generous, rib-sticking plates that warm the hands as much as the stomach.

The recipes that follow sit firmly in that camp – all created by Mike Reid, the head chef behind the new Chop House and a man who understands the rare alchemy of comfort and craft. There’s a roast chicken pie that promises the sort of buttery, flaky lid you crack through with a spoon; a chicken kiev that brings back the thrill of garlicky butter erupting down your fork; a sticky date pudding that’s unapologetically rich and best eaten with the radiator on full blast; and a steamed spotted dick that could convert even the staunchest pudding sceptic.

They’re nostalgic without being naff, indulgent without demanding cheffy precision, and all the better for the dark, cold months ahead.

These are recipes for when you want dinner to feel like a reward. For when the weather turns wet and sulky, and you want something that makes the house smell alive again. For when the only sensible answer to a long day is pastry, butter or custard – ideally all three. If autumn has a flavour, it’s probably this.

Roast chicken pie

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (approx 1.6 kg)

7g thyme

7g rosemary

½ garlic bulb, cut in half

10ml olive oil

Sea salt

Cracked black pepper

100g pancetta, diced

65g shallots, sliced

10g garlic, chopped

100g leeks, cut in half and thinly sliced

330ml chicken velouté (a simple stock-based white sauce)

8g chervil, chopped

Puff pastry to cover

1 whole egg

Dash of double cream

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 190C (fan) or 200C (conventional).

2. Place the chicken in a deep roasting tray, drizzle with the olive oil and season with sea salt and cracked black pepper. Place the thyme and rosemary into the cavity and tuck the halved garlic into the tray under or around the chicken. Roast uncovered for about 1 hour 10 minutes, or until the juices run clear.

3. Rest the chicken for 20 minutes, then pull all the meat from the bones, discarding the skin, bones and herbs. Roughly chop the meat – you’ll need about 360-400g of cooked chicken.

4. In a large pan, render the pancetta over medium heat until golden and the fat has released. Add the sliced shallots and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened. Stir in the chopped garlic and cook for 1 minute, then add the leeks. Continue cooking gently for 6-8 minutes until the leeks are sweet and soft but not coloured.

5. Pour in the chicken velouté and bring to a simmer. Add the pulled roast chicken and cook gently for 5-6 minutes to warm through and bring the flavours together. Stir through the chopped chervil and adjust seasoning to taste.

6. Cool the mixture, transfer to a pie dish, cover with the puff pastry and brush with an egg wash (whisk the whole egg with a dash of double cream). Bake at 180C for about 25 minutes or until golden brown.

Chicken kiev with creamed spinach

open image in galleryGolden, garlicky and unapologetically nostalgic – the kiev you wish every pub still served (Liverpool St Chop House & Tavern)

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast, wing tip on (ask your butcher for a “supreme” cut)

40g herb and garlic butter

35g breadcrumbs

125g butter, for cooking

50g baby spinach, washed

5ml (1 tsp) olive oil

10g shallots, diced

5g garlic, chopped

20ml double cream

Method:

1. Remove the meat from the wing tip. Flip the chicken over, skin-side down, and remove the inner fillet (the small tenderloin attached underneath).

2. Make two small incisions to create a pocket for the butter. Place the herb butter inside and lay the inner fillet over before folding the breast back together.

3. Leave to set in the fridge for 1 hour.

4. Coat the chicken evenly in the breadcrumbs (they will adhere thanks to the chilled butter).

5. Pan-fry gently in clarified butter for about 10 minutes, turning regularly, until golden all over and cooked through. Rest briefly.

6. Meanwhile, make the creamed spinach: heat the olive oil, sauté the shallots and garlic for 1 minute, add the spinach until wilted, then stir in the cream and season.

Sticky date pudding

open image in galleryRich, warming and heavy on the caramel: proof that the best puddings are the ones that demand a nap afterwards (Liverpool St Chop House & Tavern)

Ingredients:

150g soft brown sugar​

75g butter, unsalted​

2 free-range eggs​

175g dates, seeded

100ml water​

50ml rum​

175g self-raising flour​

5g bicarbonate soda​

1g mixed spice

For the caramel sauce:

250g soft brown sugar

100g butter

100g double cream

50ml rum

Tip: The day before, soak the dates in the rum, bicarbonate of soda and water and leave in the fridge overnight​.

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.

2. Blend the soaked dates – including the water, rum and bicarbonate of soda – until smooth, then mix in the eggs.

3. Cream the butter, mixed spice and sugar for 5 minutes until light.

4. Slowly add the egg mixture, alternating with a little flour. Add the remaining flour at a low speed.

5. Grease the moulds with butter and golden caster sugar.

6. Divide 80g of mixture into each mould and bake for 15–20 minutes.

7. Pierce the warm cakes with a skewer.

8. Slowly pour in the caramel sauce while warm and leave at room temperature for 10–15 minutes to soak.

9. Once absorbed, top up with more caramel.

10. Chill in the fridge until needed.

11. To serve, warm for 5 minutes at 180C.

Steamed spotted dick with custard

open image in galleryA timeless British classic, made even better drowned in warm custard and a little extra rum-soaked fruit (Liverpool St Chop House & Tavern)

Serves: 10 in individual 150ml ramekins or pudding moulds

Ingredients:

For the puddings:

420g self-raising flour

210g shredded suet (beef or vegetarian)

170g soft light brown sugar

300g rum and raisin mix (see below)

Zest of 2 lemons

1½ tsp ground mixed spice

Pinch of sea salt

250ml whole milk

2 eggs

For the rum and raisin mix (makes 1.5L):

500ml Havana Spiced rum

500g golden sultanas

500g sultanas

(You will have leftover fruit – store in the fridge and spoon over ice cream or cakes)

For the custard (makes 2.5L):

1.5L whole milk

300ml double cream

1 vanilla pod (split, seeds scraped) or 1 tbsp vanilla paste

12 egg yolks

200g caster sugar

50g cornflour

Method:

Combine all rum and raisin mix ingredients and seal in a vac bag. Leave at room temperature for at least seven days – the alcohol preserves the fruit.

Prep the moulds:

2. Grease 10 x 150ml ramekins and line the bases. Prepare squares of pleated baking paper and foil.

Make the batter:

3. Mix the flour, suet, brown sugar, rum and raisin mix, lemon zest, mixed spice and salt.

4. Whisk the milk and eggs, then stir into the dry ingredients.

5. Fill the moulds three-quarters full, cover with the pleated paper and foil, and seal well.

Steam:

6. Steam gently for 1 hour 15 minutes.

Make the custard:

7. Heat the milk and vanilla. Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour until pale.

8. Whisk in the hot milk, return to the pan and cook until thick enough to coat a spoon. Do not boil.

Serve:

9. Rest the puddings for a couple of minutes, remove the coverings, run a knife around the edge and turn out. Serve with warm custard and an extra drizzle of the rum-soaked raisins from the mix, if you like.

Recipes from liverpoolstchophouse.co.uk

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