Chicken in pies? Oh my! Try these flaky, single-serve pies when you’re feeling peckish.

Ingredients

1.5 kg chicken thigh fillets, skin on

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Sea-salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to season

1 L chicken stock, hot

Extra 50 ml extra virgin olive oil

½ brown onion, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 leeks, tops trimmed,

50 g butter

450 g large field mushrooms finely diced

3 thyme sprigs, leaves picked

40 g plain flour

2 Tbsp double cream

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 handful flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked, finely chopped

4 sheets frozen ready-rolled puff pastry, partially thawed

1 egg, beaten

Method

1.Put chicken in a large bowl and add oil, then season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Heat a large deep frying pan over a medium heat, then add chicken and cook, skin-side down, for 10 minutes or until browned. Drain excess fat  from pan, then turn chicken and add hot stock. Simmer gently for 25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

2.Transfer chicken to a plate and strain stock into a medium saucepan. Put saucepan over  a medium heat and, using a ladle, remove most of the fat from surface. Cook for 30 minutes or until stock has reduced to about 400ml.

Meanwhile, put extra oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic and leek and cook for 10 minutes or until softened and onion starts to caramelise.

4.Add butter, mushroom and thyme and cook for a further 5 minutes, then season with salt and pepper. Add  flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

5.Add reduced stock and cook, stirring continuously, for 2-3 minutes. Whisk in cream and mustard. Stir in parsley and remove from heat.

6.Dice cooked chicken and add to pan, stirring in gently. Mixture should look quite thick and luscious.

7.Preheat oven to 190°C. Gather  6 250ml-capacity ovenproof ramekins and measure diameter of 1. Cut pastry sheets into 6 discs, 3cm larger than diameter of ramekin. Brush edges  of ramekins with egg, spoon in filling and top with pastry discs. Using a  fork, pleat pastry to seal. Pierce centre of each pastry disc with a small sharp knife and brush with egg. Bake for  30 minutes or until golden. Serve.

Alix Davis