Who ate all the pies?

Why, I did!

Yummy flaky pastry with a chicken and bacon filling. And I found a new use for the cake cooker!

Hello again!

It is now my mini pie machine...

Look how very pie-like those little holes are!

I started off by making the pie filling - frying onions, bacon, chicken and mushrooms together until cooked, and adding a tarragon flavoured bechamel/veloute sauce.
(equal amounts of butter and flour melted together over a low heat, with hot milk and stock whisked in until smooth, and tarragon and seasoning added to taste)

Rough puff pastry

6oz plain flour
1.5oz cold butter - grated
1.5oz cold lard - grated
Ice cold water

Makes 7-8 pies depending on how big you cut the circles!

• add the cold grated fat to the flour, and rub together with your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs
• add water 1 tablespoon at a time, and bring the mixture together with a palette knife. Only add enough water to just bring the mix together.
• using your hands incorporate any crumbs into the dough as you form a ball with it.
• refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• roll out onto a floured surface

• cut out circles of pastry to form the base of the pie, and slightly smaller discs to form the lid.

• set up the cake machine- allow to come to temperature before opening - and feed the pie bases into the holes into the machine. Gently tap into the dip using a balled up piece of pastry.
• fill each case with a tablespoon of chicken mix, and top with a lid.

The various stages of pie cooking! Yeah, it looks pretty gross there...

 

 

• Close the lid of the cooker, and leave to cook for 10 minutes, or until golden and crisp.

Some of them may need a little trimming!

Look at that! Golden and crisp!

Look at that too... flaky!!

And not a soggy bottom in sight!