For the pastry:
200g gluten free flour
100g very cold butter
1 large or 2 small eggs
Cold water, to bind,
For the filling:
2tbsp vegetable oil
4 or 5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
1 onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
Half a small tin of sweetcorn
Handful of frozen baby broad beans
2 or 3 tbsp gluten free flour
1 pint chicken stock
Salt and Pepper
I always make my pastry in a food processor because, honestly, I’m lazy! Just chuck the flour and butter into the food processor and pulse until you can see little lumps of butter the size of peas blended through the flour. Now add the egg and a couple of tablespoons of cold water until it starts to bind. Remove the flour mixture from the processor, either into a bowl or a clean surface and work the pastry, gradually adding more water until it binds and holds together. Wrap in discs in cling film and put in the fridge to set.
Now for the filling….
Start by sautéing the onion in the oil. While the onion softens add salt and pepper to the flour in a ziplock bag and chuck in the chicken pieces. Zip up the bag and give it a good shake, so every piece of chicken is coated. When the onions are translucent, put the chicken into the pan and brown.
Once the chicken has turned white under the flour coating, throw in the chopped carrot, sweetcorn and broad beans and stir well so the vegetables are coated in the residual flour in the pan. Add some chicken stock and stir well. Add it slowly, so you can judge how thick you want the gravy.
Check for seasoning, and adjust to taste.
Now for the pastry. I have made my own pastry for years but only recently started making gluten free pastry for my grandmother and find it a lot harder to work with. It seems to absorb a lot more water so you may need to add some more once it has chilled in the fridge.
Make sure the surface you’re rolling onto is very well floured because this pastry sticks a bit. I find it cracks quite easily so roll out small portions at a time. Line the pie tin, or individual pie tins with pastry, fill with filling and top the pies with a pastry top. Cut a couple of vent holes for steam to escape and bake in a 180-200 degrees oven for 20-30 minutes.
They should look nicely browned and flaky.
Enjoy
Jo x