Mini Chicken, Bacon and Vegie Pies

Directions
Preparation:20min  ›  Cook:35min  ›  Ready in:55min 

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. (170 for fan-forced ovens). Melt 1 Tbsp of butter in the microwave and use it to brush the insides of 6 ramekins.
2. Heat oil in very large fry pan (or saucepan), add chicken and pepper. When chicken is almost cooked through, add bacon. Once bacon starts to get a bit crispy, add condensed milk and keep on med-high heat. Stirring occasionally.
3. Meanwhile, cut pastry sheets into 4 equal squares on each sheet. 6 of these squares will be the tops of your pies. Cut the corners of each of those 6 squares (about 1cm in). With remaining pastry, cut love heart shapes to add on top of the pies as decoration.
4. Going back to the chicken, once it is boiling you can add the corn and peas and bring back to the boil.
5. Now mix the flour with roughly the same amount of water in a small jar with a lid (or glass) and shake the jar (or whisk with a fork if using a glass). Slowly add this flour mixture to the chicken, making sure to continuously stir. Keep this mixture cooking for about another 5 minutes as it will thicken.
6. Spoon chicken evenly into ramekins. It is best to leave about 1cm or so at the top for the pastry to stick to the ramekin. Now egg wash the rims (inside and on top) of the ramekins. Place your pastry squares on top and press down gently being careful not to tear the pastry. You should end up with a beautiful rustic edge.
7. Egg wash the tops of the pastry squares and put your love heart shapes in the middle, egg wash the shapes.
8. Put the 6 pies in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and puffy.

Tip

It is a good idea to flour your work suface (and rolling pin if you're using one) when making the decoration shapes.

Tip

When cutting out the love heart shapes, you can use the first one you make as a stencil. You can make any shape you like or even cut out letters, like for the first letter of the name of the person you're serving the dish to.