Chicken, mushroom and bacon pie

These gorgeous little pies are the ultimate dish to tuck into as the cooler weather approaches. The filling is a classic combination of chicken, bacon and mushrooms, all encapsulated in buttery puff pastry. The mix is simple and easy to whip up, so all that’s left to do is cover with pastry and leave to bubble away in the oven. They’re lovely severed with a side of mash and steamed greens, or just enjoy on their own in all their golden glory!

Ingredients

• 3 rashers streaky bacon, roughly diced
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 125g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• 250g chicken thigh fillets, cut into 2.5cm chunks
• 25g plain flour
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 300 millilitres hot chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon marsala
• Frozen ready-rolled puff pastry sheet, thawed

Method

1. Preheat oven to 220C/gas mark 7/425F. Heat a deep-set frying pan over a medium heat, add oil and fry bacon strips until they start to crisp, then add mushrooms and cook stirring until the mushrooms soften. Remove bacon and mushrooms from pan and set aside.

2. Toss chicken in flour and thyme, then use same pan as before to cook the chicken, frying lightly to seal edges. Add bacon and mushrooms back into the pan and cook until chicken begins to colour.

3. Pour in the hot stock and Marsala, stirring to form a sauce and leave to simmer for about 5 minutes. Take two 300ml/1¼ cup pie pots and line the tops with a 1cm-wide strip of pastry, to cover the rim. (This will give the top layer of pastry something to stick to.)

4. Divide chicken filling between the two pie pots and then cover with pastry, pressing into the rim pastry with a fork to seal it together. Cook the pies for about 20 minutes turning them around halfway through cooking. When they’re golden and puffy on top, they’re done!