Coronation chicken pies

Makes 24

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooling time:
at least an hour
Cooking time:
1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients
600g chicken breasts 
2 tbsps curry powder 
1 tbsp oil 
150-250ml prosecco or white wine 
1 shallot 
1 tsp tomato puree 
200-250ml chicken stock 
2 tbsp apricot jam 
2 tsp fresh lemon juice 
½ tsp sugar 
½ tsp salt 
½ tsp ground pepper 
100ml double cream 
4 dried apricots (optional) 
4 sheets of ready rolled all butter puff pastry 
1 egg, beaten with a pinch of salt added 

Method
Cover the chicken  with 1 tbsp mild or medium curry powder and put to one side for at least half an hour. 

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-low heat, add the chicken and fry going golden.  When the pan starts to look dry, add 150ml of the prosecco and cook for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through, turning often.  Any time the pan looks dry then add a little more prosecco as you don’t want it to catch and burn. 

Once the chicken is cooked, remove the chicken, add the shallots to the pan and cook for 2 minutes.  Add the tomato puree and stir and then add the stock and apricot jam and bring to a gentle boil. 

Meanwhile cut the chicken into small pieces. 

Pour in the lemon juice and a pinch of sugar, then season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.  Stir through the double cream, the apricot pieces if using and the chicken and turn off the heat.  Leave to cool completely. 

When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 200c. 

Take 1 sheet of puff pastry out of your fridge and using your round pastry cutter, cut your circles out of the pastry.  You should get 12 in total but if you get more then feel free to cut more. Put the cut out pastry on to a lined baking tray and put into the fridge. 

Remove your next sheet of puff pastry and repeat, placing the cut out pastry on to a plate or board. 

Take the pastry on the baking tray out of the fridge and brush with the beaten egg. Place a heaped tablespoon of the filling on each round, leaving a 5mm space around the edge so you can seal the puffs. Once you have put the filling on to each pastry, get the remaining pastry out of the fridge and put lids on to your pastry, pressing on to the pastry with the filling, gently sealing round the edges.  Brush with egg wash all over the top of the puffs and put into the oven. 

Bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden and then serve the puffs hot.  They are good cold but even better straight from the oven, just watch your mouth as they burn.