Chicken pot hand pies

Chicken pot pie is transformed into hand pies: filled with a thick chicken stew, these make excellent picnic fare.

Credit: Mary Makes It Easy

• makes

  12

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  40 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 4 cups (1 litre) low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (about 225g / ½ lb) chicken breast
• 30 g (1½ tbsp) butter
• 1 leek or yellow onion, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1½ tbsp flour
• ½ cup frozen peas
• 1½ tbsp finely chopped parsley
• ¼ cup (20 g) grated parmesan (Parmigiano-Reggiano) cheese
• 1½ tbsp sour cream
• 1 pkg (about 400-450g) frozen puff pastry, defrosted according to package directions  
• 1 egg
• 3 tsp (15 ml) milk or water

Standing time: 15 minutes.

Instructions

1. Pour the chicken broth into a medium saucepan and add in the chicken breast. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, cover with a lid, and let it sit for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken from the broth and set aside to rest. Reserve 1½ cups of the broth for later and transfer the rest to a container to cool to room temperature before covering and storing in the fridge to use in another recipe.
2. Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add butter to melt, then add the leek or onion, celery and carrot, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 to 6 minutes or until softened and lightly golden. Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute.
3. Stir in the flour and toast for 1 minute. Switch to a whisk and slowly add in 1 cup of the reserved chicken broth. Using two forks, shred the chicken and add to the pan along with the peas, parsley, parmesan and sour cream. Season with salt and pepper, bring to a simmer, and cook until thickened. You want the stew to be quite thick but, if it seems a bit dry, add more of the reserved broth. Set aside to cool completely. If desired, you can make the stew two days in advance and store in the fridge.
4. Arrange your oven rack to the lowest position and heat the oven to 210°C (425°F). Line a baking tray (sheet pan) with baking (parchment) paper and set aside.
5. If your puff pastry comes in two sheets or blocks, roll each out into a 23 cm x 35 cm (9 x 14 inch) rectangle and cut each into six roughly 12 cm (4½ inch) squares. If your pastry comes as one large sheet, simply roll into a 35 cm x 46 cm (14  x 18 inch) rectangle and cut into twelve. Divide the chicken stew evenly into the centre of each square and fold over into a triangle, pressing the edges with a fork to seal. Transfer to the prepared tray
6. Beat the egg with the milk or water and brush the tops of each hand pie with a thin layer of egg wash. Cut a small slit in the top of each to allow steam to escape and bake the hand pies for 20 minutes or until golden and crisp.
7. Allow to cool slightly or all the way to room temperature before serving.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.