Chicken pot pies

Makes 16

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time:
1 - 1½ hours

Ingredients
600g leftover chicken or turkey
1 packet of frozen ready cut soffrito or 2 large carrots, 2 celery sticks, 2 medium onions cut into small dice
30g butter
½ tbsp oil 
60g flour
1 litre of stock, chicken or vegetable
1 egg, beaten

Pastry ingredients 
500g plain flour
250g cold butter, cut into cubes
1 egg
1 tbsp cold water

Equipment needed
12 hole muffin tin

Method
Start with the pastry.  Put the flour and butter into a large bowl and either by hand or in a processor combine until the mix looks like breadcrumbs.  Add the egg yolk and 2 tsp of cold water and bring together.  If your pastry is too crumbly to gather properly then add another tsp of cold water.  You want to gather together and gently push down to bring together.  Knead until it just comes together.  Try not to overwork as then the pastry tends to shrink.  Cover with clingfilm and put into the fridge for at least half an hour.

Cook the soffrito in the butter and the oil until starting to go golden, around 5 minutes. Add the flour and stir and cook for 1 minute. Turn off the heat and add the stock 1 ladleful at a time until fully incorporated, mixing the whole time so no lumps are formed. Turn back on the heat and cook until thick around 5 minutes, check seasoning.  Add the leftovers chicken or turkey and mix through. Turn off the heat and leave to cool.  

When your mixture is cool, roll out your pastry to 3-4mm thick.  Take a saucer and cut 12 rounds.  Carefully push into your muffin tins.  Cut out with a pastry cutter 12 lids.  Fill your pies until almost full and top with a lid. Crimp together the base and lid together to seal.

If you have 2 muffin tins you can make all now.  Otherwise, gather your pastry up, wrap back in the clingfilm and put back into the fridge.  Cover your filling and also place into the fridge.

Add 1 tsp of water to your egg and brush over your egg wash on every pie.

Cook for roughly 30 minutes until cooked.  Leave for 5 minutes to firm and cool before you take out of the tins.

If you only have 1 tin you can either fill the tin again and cook or put back into the fridge for the later/the next day.