No fancy shmancy pie maker, no worries! Chicken and leek pastry parcels are surely the next best thing – who doesn’t love a creamy chicken filling surrounded in buttery puff pastry?
Perfect for lunch or dinner, these rustic yet mighty delicious chicken filled pastry parcels hit the savoury spot beautifully.
Hot tip: For maximum puff, use a good quality butter-loaded puff pastry – it really does make a difference!
Chicken and Leek Pastry Parcels Recipe
Ingredients
- 40g unsalted butter
- 1 leek, finely sliced white part only
- 1½ teaspoon minced garlic
- 600g chicken breast fillets, diced into small pieces
- 3 tablespoons cornflour
- 1 cup chicken stock
- ½ cup thickened cream
- 1 cup frozen peas and corn, defrosted
- 1 tablespoon chopped chives
- salt and pepper to season
- 4 sheets puff pastry (5 if decorating with shapes!)
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Method
- In a large frying pan, melt the butter over a medium heat. Cook the garlic and leek for a few minutes until the leek softens – be careful not to burn the garlic.
- Add the diced chicken to the pan. Turn the heat up slightly and cook until the chicken is browned evenly.
- Mix together the cornflour and stock in a cup. Add the blended stock to the chicken mixture. Add the cream, chives, peas and corn. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir the mixture until the sauce thickens.
- Turn the heat off and set aside to cool slightly.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C. Cut four pastry sheets in half to give you 8 rectangles. Spoon the mixture onto half of each rectangle. Brush the edges of the pastry with water and fold the pastry over the mixture to encase and create a pastry pie pocket. Pinch the edges together with a fork. Using a sharp knife, pierce the top of the pastry for steam to escape. Repeat for each pastry piece.
- Pop the pastry parcels onto a greased baking tray. If decorating, cut shapes from an extra sheet of puff pastry and ‘glue’ the shapes on with a brush of water. Brush the egg wash over each pastry parcel and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the puff pastry is golden. Serve immediately.
This recipe yields 8 delicious chicken and leek parcels.
Pastry parcels are an awesome menu addition for anyone embarking on a shelf cooking challenge – great for using random fridge and freezer contents up! For more pastry goodness, check out our sausage roll and chicken and vegetable sausage roll recipes. They’re all awesome lunch box fillers too!
