Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Puff Pastries

These puff pastry parcels, packed full of delicious creamy chicken and mushrooms, make a fun and different meal idea.

If you eat chicken for dinner as much as we do then you're probably forever looking for new ways to serve it. That's where this simple midweek meal dish came from.

We were getting dangerously close to shopping day - the fridge and cupboards were looking rather bare. I didn't have much to work with but I did have chicken, cream, mushrooms, and puff pastry.

Everything about these little pastries is wonderful - the creamy warm filling, the crunch of the pastry as you cut through, and the melt of the cheese to top it all off. 

Creamy Chicken and Mushroom Puff Pastries

Makes 6

3 sheets puff pastry, thawed and cut in half lengthways

6 slices Swiss cheese

500 g chicken breast, diced

1 onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup button mushrooms, chopped

1/3 to 1/2 cup cream

salt and pepper to taste

egg wash to finish

1. Preheat the oven to 200C (400F) and line a baking tray with baking paper.

2. Make the filling by heating a dash of oil in a fry pan over a medium to high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for a few minutes. Add the chicken and continue to cook until it is browned on all sides. Add the mushrooms and cook for a further few minutes.

3. Turn off the heat and stir in the cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Assemble to pastries by laying a slice of cheese at the bottom of each halved pastry sheet. Spoon the chicken mixture evenly between the six pastries. Bring the top half over the bottom and seal the remaining three sides (pressing with a fork works well).

5. Place onto the baking tray and brush with egg wash (one egg mixed with a little milk).

6. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, until the pastry is puffed and golden.