ingredients
serves 6
3 chicken breasts
salt and pepper
3/4 cup mushrooms, sliced
little flour to thicken
rough puff pastry made with 1 3/4 cups flour (see below)
1 small egg, beaten
method
1. Put the chicken in a pan; add just enough water to cover, salt and pepper and the mushrooms.
2. Bring to the boil then cover pan and simmer for 1 hour, or until chicken is tender; take meat off bones.
3. Preheat oven to moderately hot, 200°C (400°F) or gas 6. Grease 6 patty tins.
4. Thicken the liquid from the chicken with flour then mix chicken pieces and mushrooms back into it. Allow to cool.
5. Roll out pastry. Cut out 12 rounds. Use half to line tins. Make leaves and stars from the pastry trimmings.
6. Spoon the cooled chicken mixture into the patty tins. Wet edges of pastry; put on lids and seal.
7. Brush the tops with beaten egg and make a small hole in the tops.
8. Brush pastry shapes with egg and use to decorate the pies.
9. Bake, in the centre of the preheated oven, for 25 minutes, or until golden.
Rough Puff Pastry
1 3/4 cups All purpose flour
pinch of salt
1/2 cup (4 ounce) hard butter
3/4 teaspoon lemon juice
cold water to mix
1. Sift flour and salt into a bowl.
2. Cut butter into small pieces, about the size of a hazelnut.
3. Put butter in the mixing bowl. Toss lightly with a spatula or palette knife until butter is mixed in and coated with flour.
4. Add the lemon juice and just enough cold water to mix to a light, fairly soft dough.
5. Roll out dough carefully into an oblong.
6. Measure the oblong. Fold the bottom third up over centre third and fold top third down over centre fold to make three layers.
7. Seal the edges with a rolling pin. (It should not be necessary to chill dough between rollings.)
8. Repeat the rolling and folding process three times (giving the dough a quarter turn before each rolling and folding).
9. Wrap dough in foil and chill for 1 hour before using.
