Yesterday I saw the cutest little casserole rammikens in a Mr Price Home store. It was on a 50% off sale and since I already find it hard to resist clearing out the store on most days, I just had to have them (and so I bought four). They are oven proof and therefore perfect as individual pie dishes...which is exactly what I used them (one) for today!
Start off with some puff pastry, I bought a pack of frozen pastry at the grocery store. I suppose if you want you can make it from scratch, but I don't think the type of cook who makes puff pastry from scratch would be reading an amateur cooking-for-one blog :) The pastry needs to be cut as a "lid" for the rammiken. As today was my first time working with puff pastry, I did not prepare for the fact that puff pastry puffs and therefore shrinks so be sure to cut the "lid" sizeably larger than the actual top of the rammiken. The puff pastry needs to be baked according to package instructions. It takes quite a while to cook through, so I would advise you to do this first. Cook at 200 degrees celcius for 15-30 minutes (until light, golden brown).
Heat half a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan on medium high heat. To give you an indication, my little two plate stove has settings 1 to 3 and I used setting 2 for the oil.
Add a quarter of an onion (finely chopped) to the heated oil and fry for 3-4 minutes, stirring regularly. I probably would have used one shallot or pickling onion instead, but they did not have any at the shop.
Add half a clove of finely chopped or grated garlic (about a quarter of a teaspoon). At this stage I probably would have also added a quarter or a half of a small, finely chopped leek, but the store also did not have any leeks. Fry for another 3-4 minutes, stirring regularly.
Add 3-5 mushrooms, halved and sliced. I used button mushrooms but I suppose it does not matter which kind you use. The amount also depends on the size of your rammiken, mine is quite small so I ended up only using 3 mushrooms. Fry for 2 minutes, stirring regularly. At this point you might also want to reduce the heat. I put my stove on setting one.
Chop one deboned, skinless chicken breast (about 90-100 grams) into very small pieces. Mix the chicken pieces with half a tablespoon of olive oil, some salt and a pinch of pepper. Add the chicken pieces to the mixture on the stove. Stir constantly. Add a splash of Worcestershire sauce, a splash of olive oil (if the mixture seems too dry) and a few drops of Tobasco. The Tobasco is optional, I used the green pepper flavoured one. Cook the mixture until the chicken is no longer visibly pink (1-2 minutes). The chicken should be chopped in such small pieces that it browns almost instantly. Remove from heat.
Put a small pot on the same stove (which should be on low heat now). Melt a heaped teaspoon of butter/margarine. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, a teaspoon of flour and the leaves from two small branches of fresh thyme. Whisk together.
Strain the chicken mixture through a sieve, allowing the liquid to pour into the pot with the flour mixture. Whisk.
Add 60 ml of milk and whisk to form a smooth, creamy consistency.
Add the chicken and onion mixture to the sauce, mix in and add salt and pepper according to taste (if necessary).
Bake in rammiken for 5-10 minutes in the same oven used for the puff pastry.
Remove and serve with puff pastry lid.
I served my chicken pie with a very simple rocket salad (rocket leaves, cucumber, halved cherry tomatoes, feta cheese and croutons). The balsamic glaze dressing (store bought) that I used on the salad really worked well with the chicken pie. I think in the future I will try to incorporate balsamic in the chicken pie mixture somehow!
Bon appetit!
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