Chicken and Sweetcorn Pasties

Ingredients:

For the Filling:
2 skinless chicken breast fillets (about 375g [13 oz])
600ml chicken stock
25g butter
25g plain flour
4 tbsp single cream
75g sweetcorn kernels (tinned or frozen)

For the Pastry:
225g (8 oz) plain flour
salt, to taste
110g butter
110g Cheddar cheese, grated
1 large egg, beaten with 1 tbsp cold water
milk, to glaze

Method:

For the filling, place the chicken breasts in a saucepan, pour over the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and poach the chicken gently for 15-20 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked (don't over cook as you will cook further later). Take off the heat and set aside to cool.

Remove the chicken breasts with tongs and reserve the stock. Dice the chicken breasts then set aside in the refrigerator until needed.

Bring the chicken stock back to a boil, and cook until reduced to 300ml. In another saucepan, melt the butter then scatter over and stir in the flour. Fry for 1 minute then whisk in the hot stock. Whist whisking constantly bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Continue cooking for 3 minutes, still whisking constantly.

Now stir in the cream, followed by the diced chicken and sweetcorn. Take off the heat, cover the surface with clingfilm (this prevents a skin from forming) then set aside to cool. Once cooled, place in the refrigerator to chill.

For the pastry, sift together the flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl. Add the butter, diced and rub into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in 3/4 of the grated cheese then add the egg and stir to combine. Bring the mixture together as a dough then turn out onto a floured work surface and knead lightly until smooth and elastic. Cover with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Pre-heat your oven to 220°C (200°C fan/425°F/Gas Mark 7).

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll out to about 3mm (1/8 in) thick. Using a 15cm (10 in) plate as a template cut out as many rounds as you can from the dough (re-roll the scraps and cut out more); you are aiming for 6 rounds in total.

Turn the pastry rounds over, so the floured surfaces are uppermost. Divid the filling mixture between the rounds, setting it slightly off centre. Brush the edges of the pastry with water then fold over to form a half moon. Crimp the edges firmly closed and prick a few steam holes in the top with the tines of a fork.

Transfer to two lightly-greased baking trays then brush the tops with milk to glaze before sprinkling the remaining cheese on top. Transfer to the centre of your pre-heated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the pastry is cooked and golden and the filling is piping hot.

These can be served hot or cold.