Mini Chicken Pies

I made some mini chicken pies for Jo's Godmother a few days before Christmas.  Adapted the recipe from Coles Food Magazine.  I was attracted by the recipe which has rosemary herbs to it :)   Not a fan of frozen peas , I substituted it with fresh mushrooms .  I also like the fact that it is made into mini pies . It looks cute with the fresh rosemary sprig as garnishing.  These cute mini pies are great as gifts for friends when visiting them :).  I made my own shortcrust pastry instead of store bought ones.  The mini chicken pies turned out fabulous and delicious.  Jo's Godma gave a good feedback on them , I kept some for the family too  :)  Wild Boar gobbled 3 of these mini pies at one go.  Not nicknamed WB for nothing eh :p

Making them is easy.  You can prepare the pastry a day ahead.  The filling mixture can be refrigerated for up to one day , thus can be made a day ahead too .   I prepared the pastry and filling on one day and bake them the next day , thus making it easy for me.   I baked them two hours before visiting Jo's Godma and got them ready in time for bringing them along with me :)  We are lucky these days that the baking store have beautiful cake and tart boxes for sale. I bought a cute box which can hold 6 mini pies, perfect for carting it to Jo's Godma :)  

I like the way how this chicken pie is presented....

finished with a sprig of rosemary as decoration :)

 one easy way to wrap your chicken pie...and

using a muffin pan is a brilliant idea :)

nice presentation eh...with the homegrown rosemary 

love how evenly browned the crust is :)

just could not resist taking a photoshoot of it  !

it was still lukewarm when I packed them in the box....I left the box open

and close it upon reaching our destination :)

Short Crust Pastry  by Martha Stewart

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
6 tsp cold unsalted butter
2 tbsp cold vegetable shortening * Crisco
1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

1. Pulse flour, salt, butter, and shortening in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse meal. With processor running, drizzle in 1/4 cup water until dough just comes together. ( If dough is still crumbly, add up to 1/4 cup more ice water, 1 tbsp at a time ) Do not process for more than 20 seconds.  Divide dough in half, wrap each in plastic.  Refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.


Mini Chicken Pies -  adapted from Coles Austrialia No.1 Food Magazine

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil
500 g chicken thigh filets, trimmed and cut into 2cm pieces
4 spring onions, sliced
3 rashers bacon, finely chopped
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary, plus sprigs to garnish (optional)
1 cup Coles Brand Australian Frozen Peas * I substitute with fresh mushrooms
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp plain flour
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup cream

4 sheets of frozen shortcrust pastry, thawed

Method:

1. Heat oil in a large, deep frypan. Cook chicken in 3 batches on medium high until browned, set aside in a large bowl.  Add spring onions and bacon to pan and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 3-4 mins, until bacon is lightly browned.  Stir in rosemary, then add to chicken, along with peas ( mushrooms if using ).

2. Melt butter in same pan, and sprinkle flour over. Cook , stirring and scraping the base of pan, for 1 min.  Add combined stock and cream a little at a time, stirring well between each addition.  When all stock is added, bring to a simmer and cook for 1 min.

3. Pour sauce over chicken mixture and leave to cool, stirring occasionally to release the heat ( the mixture can be refrigerated for up to 1 day at this point if you like ).

4. Preheat oven to  200C or 180C fan. Grease a 12 hole medium (1/3 cup) muffin tin. Use cutters (or a saucer as a guide ) to cut 3 x12 cm rounds and 3 x 6cm rounds from each sheet of pastry. Gently ease larger rounds into muffin holes.

5. Fill pastry with chicken mixture. Lay a smaller round of pastry on top, and fold overhanging pastry around edges to enclose.  Bake for 15-20 mins, until golden brown. Leave in pan for 5 mins, then carefully lift out. If you like, pierce a hole in the top with a toothpick, and insert a small sprig of rosemary.

Enjoy !