Mini chicken, leek and bacon pies Serves: 2 | Time: 45min Ingredients: 1 quantity of gluten-free shortcrust pastry chilled for 25 minutes 1 egg, beaten Handful of poppy seeds (optional) For the filling: 250g boneless, skinless chicken thigh fillets 100g diced smoked streaky bacon 90g leek, chopped 2 tbsp gluten-free plain (all-purpose) flour 400ml gluten-free chicken stock Sprig of fresh rosemary, finely chopped 2 tbsp double (heavy) cream Salt and pepper
and fry until the fat begins to brown, then add the leek and chicken. Fry for 3–4 minutes until the chicken is sealed.
12cm pastry circle. Transfer this to a pie dish and gently push the pastry in leaving a little overhang. Trim off any excess.
Add in flour and mix until evenly coated, then add the stock and rosemary, and season with salt and pepper.
Form the leftover pastry scraps back into a ball and re-roll out to a 3mmin thickness. Place your second pie dish face down onto the rolled-out pastry and trace around it with a knife to create a lid. Repeat with the other half of your dough and second pie dish.
Rose-vanilla bath melts
Method: Cut the chicken into 2cm strips. Place a large pan over a medium heat, add bacon
Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes or until the gravy has thickened. Remove from the heat and, after 5 minutes, stir in the cream and leave to cool.
Preheat oven to 200°C fan/ 220°C. Remove pastry from the fridge. Don’t handle your dough excessively as this will warm it up and make it more fragile. Cut the ball of pastry in half and lightly flour your rolling pin. On a sheet of nonstick baking parchment, roll out one portion of the dough to a 3mm thickness. For a 10cm pie dish, cut out a
Divide your pie filling between the pie dishes and brush the overhang with egg. Place your pastry lids on top and pinch the edges together. Brush each pie with beaten egg and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Lastly, make a small hole in the very middle or each lid with a sharp knife. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes until golden, then serve with mashed potato, veggies and my lazy glutenfree gravy.
This is an edited extract from How to Make Anything Gluten Free by Becky Excell published by Quadrille RRP $39.99 and is available in stores nationally from 17 February 2021. 34
