(30 cocktail serves)

This recipe, like most pies, involves making a pie filling, then filling and baking pies. The pie filling can be held in the fridge for up to 2 days or can be frozen for up to one month. If 30 little pies are surplus to requirements make fewer and freeze part of the filling, or bake 30 pies and freeze the surplus.

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

• Preheat oven to 200°C.
• Melt 1st measure of butter in a heavy frypan and sear chicken on both sides. Transfer chicken to a low sided baking tray and reserve the pan you have seared chicken in.
• Place chicken in oven and roast for 15-20 minutes or till juices run clear. Cool. Once the chicken is cold enough to handle, remove skin and cut chicken into fine slivers.
• Pour stock into chicken searing frypan scraping the browning into the stock. Bring to the boil and add carrot, rosemary and bay leaf. Simmer for 5 minutes or till carrot is tender. Discard the rosemary and bay leaf.
• In a new saucepan place second measure of butter and add shallot and cook till soft but not browned. Add flour to butter and shallot to make a roux. Continue to cook the flour for 3 to 4 minutes or till roux smells nutty.
• With food processor running, working quickly, pour cream through feed tube and process till dough just begins to form a ball.
• Add chicken stock with the carrot to the roux sauce. Add chicken slivers, parsley, spring onions, Tabasco and lemon to sauce. Season with salt, pepper and ground nutmeg to taste (remember the pie filling needs to be tasty as there is only a small amount of filling per pie).
• Put filling aside to cool and then chill.
• Grease 30 baby muffin tins with baking spray or melted butter.
• Roll out puff pastry to 2mm thick and, using an 8cm cookie cutter, cut out 30 pie bases. Gently push pie bases into baby muffin tins.
• Fill each pie case 3/4 full with chilled chicken pie filling.
• Using a 6.5cm cookie cutter cut out 30 pie lids. Brush underneath edges of lids with water and place on top of pies. Using a fork dipped in flour, press the lid edges to the sides of the bases.
• Rest pies for 30 minutes in refrigerator.
• Preheat oven to 210°C.
• Combine egg yolk and water to make a glaze.
• Cut a vent in each pie top and glaze tops with egg yolk glaze.
• Bake for 10-15 minutes or till pastry is golden brown. Check that bases are cooked through.
• When pies are cool enough to handle, remove from tins and serve, or chill to reheat later. Salt and pepper each pie before serving