Mini Chicken Pot Pies

5 from 1 vote

These are perfect little pies inspired by my mum's recipe. Baked in ramekins, they're the perfect mini chicken pot pies for entertaining or freezing.

Prep Time40

Cook Time35

Total Time1 15

Course: Chicken

Cuisine: American, British

Servings: servings

Author: Margie Nomura

Ingredients

1 tsp olive oil
2 1/2 oz (70 g) approx pancetta lardons or bacon (I like unsmoked)
1 3/4 oz (50 g) butter about 3 1/2 tbsp
1 small red onion chopped
2 leeks washed and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic crushed
2 oz (60 g) flour about 1/2 cup
1 tsp dried tarragon
salt and pepper
15 1/4 fl oz (450 ml) chicken stock about 1 3/4 cups
4 1/4 fl oz (130 ml) milk about generous 1/2 cup
1 lb (450 g) cooked chicken preferably leftover roast chicken or shredded rotisserie chicken
5 1/2 oz (160 g) canned sweet corn drained
1 lb 2 oz (500 g) ready-made puff pastry about 1 box
1 beaten egg to egg wash
3/4 oz (20 g) grated Parmesan
2 tbsp dried tarragon
Sprinkling of sea salt flakes

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C/170°C fan).
Add the pancetta and oil to a cold pan and turn to medium heat. Fry the pancetta until crispy, around 10-15 minutes. Once golden, remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add the butter to the pan with the leftover pancetta oil. Add the onions and leek. Season and sauté gently for 5 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and fry for another 30 seconds.
Stir in the flour and give it a good stir. Fry for a few minutes to cook out the raw taste of the flour. Then add the hot stock and the milk. Whisk well to get rid of lumps. Allow to simmer gently for 5 minutes to thicken. Stir in the dried tarragon, chicken, sweet corn, and pancetta. Taste and adjust the seasoning. The pancetta is salty, so see how much salt you need; it will definitely want black pepper.
Once you're happy, scoop into the ramekins. Cut 4 long strips of the pastry, about 3/4 inch (2 cm) wide, and 4 circles which are about 3/4 inch (2 cm) bigger than the ramekins. Press the strips onto the lip of each ramekin, wrapping it around like a loop. Then lay the lid on top of this, using a fork to seal it on and crimp it down. Use a knife to poke two holes in each pastry lid and decorate with extra pastry if you want. Brush each pie with egg wash, sprinkle with parmesan, dried tarragon, and a little flaky sea salt.
Bake for about 30-35 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.

Notes

Make-ahead and storage

To make-ahead: You can make the chicken pot pie filling in advance, let it cool, and either store it in the fridge for 2 days or freeze it for 1 month in airtight containers, then build the pies when ready to bake.

To freeze: The assembled, unbaked pies can be frozen for a quick meal. Wrap each pie with plastic wrap before freezing. Bake them from frozen for about 45 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling.

More quick tips

Puff pastry: You can use the ready-rolled pastry, but you might need 2 packages depending on the size of your ramekins. Any leftover pastry is delicious when turned into cheese twists.

Chicken: If you don’t have leftover roast chicken and can’t get hold of rotisserie chicken, just roast a few chicken thighs in the oven at 428°F (220°C/200°C fan) for 30-40 mins (or until cooked through) with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Then shred up once cooked.

Nutrition