Home-made Chicken and Mini Cheddar Pie

Up your chicken pie game with the addition of something we all love to snack on… Mini Cheddars! This recipe come courtesy of our reader, Rochelle Stemmet.

SERVES 4–6 // COOK TIME 25-35 min

INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp butter, plus to grease
1 green pepper, seeded  and sliced
250g mushrooms, quartered
3 tbsp flour
150 ml chicken stock
½ cup cream
Squeeze of lemon juice
Pinch of tarragon
12 chicken breast fillets, cooked  and chopped
33g packet bacon Mini Cheddars, crushed
1 cup grated cheddar
½ × 400g roll puff pastry, defrosted
1 egg, beaten

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 220°C. Grease a large ovenproof dish.
2. Blanch the green pepper in a pot of boiling water, with salt for 2–3 minutes. Drain. Put the pepper in cold water and drain again.
3. Melt 2 tbsp of butter in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add mushrooms and sauté for 2–3 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. Melt remaining butter in another pot. Add flour and cook slowly over a low heat until the mixture is straw-coloured. Add chicken stock, and turn the heat up. Stir constantly until simmering. Add cream and reduce until the sauce has a syrupy consistency. Add lemon juice and tarragon.
5. Remove the pot from the heat. Add cooked peppers, mushrooms, chicken and mix it all together.
6. Pour the chicken mixture into an ovenproof dish. Add the Mini Cheddars and cheese and give it a mix.
7. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface, to a thickness of about  1 cm. Place over the filling and trim edges. (Optional: use trimmings to make shapes for the top of the pie)
8. Stab holes with a knife into the pastry  for the steam to escape. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg.
9. Bake  for 25–35 minutes.