Ricotta Meat Pie

Crunchy puff pastry filled with creamy, tender, juicy chicken; need I say more!? These tiny beasts are an Australian delicacy that is so delicious and easy to make. These little beasts burst exploit with flavour and blow your mind. The subtle sweet ricotta balances the smoky solid flavours. The pastry provides a perfect home for the tender chicken. All these ingredients work together to create a beautiful experience.

Serves: 9

Ingredients

350g Chicken thighs

Marination

2 tbsp Lemon juice

1 ½ Garlic powder

2 tsp dried Rosemary

1 ½ Ginger powder

Gravy

3 Garlic cloves

2 Thyme stems

½ sliced Onion

½ sliced Red bell pepper

½ sliced Yellow bell pepper

½ cup + 2 tbsp Chicken stock

1½ tbsp Cornflour

1 tsp Garlic powder

Salt to taste

1 tsp dried Rosemary

1 tsp smoked Cayenne pepper

⅓ cup Ricotta

4 Puff pastry sheets

Method

Step 1- Marination

Clean the chicken thoroughly. Cut the thighs into bite-size cubes. Then add lemon juice, rosemary, garlic powder and ginger powder to a bowl. Mix well and add chicken strips, coat well with the marinate and keep in the refrigerator for 3 hours or overnight.

Step 2

To a pan, add 1 tbsp oil. Then place on medium-high heat. Once hot, add the chicken cubes and cook till slightly golden brown. Flip the chicken after every 4 minutes.

Step 3- Gravy

Remove the cooked chicken and keep it aside. To the same pan, add garlic and onion slices. Cook till the onion is brown and transparent. Then add the peppers and cook till slightly soft.

Step 4

Add garlic powder, rosemary, cayenne pepper and salt. Mix well. Now add the chicken cubes and ½ cup broth. Reduce the heat to a medium and let the broth simmer till half reduced.

Step 5

Then in a bowl, add cornflour and 2 tbsp chicken broth and mix well. Add the cornflour slurry to the pan and give it a good stir. Then cook for another minute or two. Take off the heat and add ricotta.

Step 6

Preheat the oven to 180℃. Grease a muffin tray with butter. Thaw the pastry sheets; once at room temperature, cut nine 4-inch circles and nine 3-inch circles. Fit the 4-inch circles in the muffin tray. Fill the cup with 2-3 tbsp of filling and cover with 3-inch circles. Then seal the edges and brush with egg wash.

Step 7

Place in the oven and bake for 17-20 minutes or till golden brown. Then take the tray out of the oven and let them rest for 15-20 minutes. Then with a sharp knife, lift the pies out of the tin and serves hot!

Tips

1. Marinating the chicken enhances flavour and texture.

2. You can replace the chicken thigh with chicken breast.

3. The internal temperature of the cooked chicken should be 74℃.

4. Make sure there are no lumps in the cornflour slurry.

5. Make sure to butter the tray properly; otherwise, the pies might stick to the tray.

6. You can replace egg wash with milk or butter.