Creamy chicken and leek pies

Make the filling

1. Debone and chop the chicken thighs into small chunks, leaving the skin on. Ensure you have at least 300g of meat after deboning. Set aside.
2. Slice the leek thinly into coins of about 5mm/0.2" thickness.
3. Heat the knob of butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the leeks and garlic and fry for 2-2½ minutes. Keep the heat medium, you don't want to brown the leeks, just soften them.
4. Add the double cream, thyme, salt and pepper. Mix through and cook for 2 minutes until the leeks are soft and the cream has slightly reduced.
5. Add the chopped up roast chicken and the parmesan. Heat through for 1-2 minutes.
6. Set the filling aside to cool down whilst you prepare the pastry.
7. Preheat the oven to 190℃/374℉/gas mark 5 and line a baking sheet with baking paper.

Prepare the pastry

1. Unroll the sheet of puff pastry on the countertop. Keep the pastry on the paper sheet it was rolled in to save having to flour the surface. Seal any cracks that might have appeared in the pastry during unrolling.Top tip - Remove the pastry from the fridge 30 minutes before unrolling to bring it up to room temperature. The pastry is less likely to crack in the small inside curl when unrolling.
2. Using a rolling pin, roll the pastry sheet out until it's slightly larger, about 40cm x 40cm/16" x 16".
3. Use a side plate of circa 18cm in diameter as a template. With a sharp knife, cut out four circles from the pastry, tracing around the plate. Discard the unused pastry so you're only left with the four circles.

Assemble the pies

1. Divide the chicken and leek filling into four. Scoop ¼ of the filling onto one half of each circle. Spread it out in a rough half moon shape, leaving a gap of about 1.5cm/0.6" around the edge. See blog post for photos.
2. Using the beaten egg and a pastry brush, brush a strip of roughly 1.5cm/0.6" egg wash around the edge of the clean half of the pastry.
3. Fold the clean half of the pastry over the filled half and join the edges.
4. Use a fork to crimp the edges shut. Be careful not to press the fork's tines into the filled part of the pie.
5. Brush the top and sides of each pie with egg wash.
6. Stab two small holes in the top of each pie with the tip of a knife. This allows steam to escape during baking.
7. Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds if you like. Transfer the completed pies to the prepared baking sheet.
8. Bake for 20 minutes until the pastry is puffed up and a light golden brown. Enjoy warm straight from the oven.