We had half a cooked Chicken left from Fridays roast dinner so I had another pop at Hot Water Pastry. When I worked in the butchers I used to turn out 120 Pork Pies each morning and the pasty recipe has stuck in my head. However it’s not quite the same with Gluten free flour. I’m still working on it….

Sue made the Chicken, Blue Cheese, Bacon, Mushroom and Leek filling, which was really good. No such thing as a simple pie here!

Filling Ingredients:-

Cooked Chicken, cubed
Bacon, chopped
Leek, sliced
Mushroom
1 large Onion, sliced
Garlic, grated
Blue Cheese, sliced
Milk
Salt & Pepper
Cornflour
Oil

Filling method:-

(1) Season and fry the Onion and Garlic.
(2) Add the Bacon and fry until well cooked.
(3) Add the chopping Leek and Mushrooms.
(4) Add the milk.
(5) Gently stir in the Chicken and thicken the sauce with Cornflour.
(6) Set aside to cool.

Pastry Ingredients:-

110g of lard
280g of water
500g of plain flour
2 tsp salt
1 tsp Xanthan Gum

Pastry Method:-

(1) Boil the Lard and Water.
(2) In a large bowl combine the Flour, Salt and Xanthan Gum.
(3) Make a well in the middle and add the Water and Lard.
(4) Kneed well to make a very thick dough.
(5) Wrap in cling film and allow to rest for 20 minutes.

Pie Method:-

(1) Oil your pie tins.
(2) Divide the pastry into two larger portions and one smaller. The larger balls are for the pie walls and the tops. The smaller portion is for a divider.
(3) Press pastry into your pie tins to form the walls about 3mm think.
(4) Brush an Egg wash around the inside and bake blind at 180c for 15 minutes.
(5) Remove from the oven and press the walls flat against the tin sides with a spoon if required, while the pastry is still hot.
(6) Allow to cool.
(7) Roll out the remaining larger portion of dough and cut the lids.
(8) Do the same with the smaller portion but roll this out very thin and cut two dividers which will fit inside the casings.
(9) Add the cooled filling so the pies are a little over 2/3 filled.
(10) Add the dividers on top of the filling and press around the edges to seal.
(11) Add the Blue Cheese above the dividers.
(12) Add the pie tops and punch a hole in the middle.
(13) with a fork press the edges together to seal the pies.
(14) Brush with a beaten Egg with a little dried Oregano added.
(15) Bake at 180c for 45 minutes until the tops are golden brown.

Serve with hand cut chips and Peas and enjoy. We certainly did!