Pretty much an assembly job — this is a fantastic way of using up Friday night dinner left-overs and is a meal in one pot. It’s a great way of using up both the roast chicken remains and any spare soup, allowing you to stretch what would be a scant single portion into at least two helpings. You can use leftover vegetables if you have any or frozen vegetables, which are an economic way of buying veggies as you only use what you need. If you do not have leftover chicken, strip the meat from two small quarters of roasted chicken.


Method

• Heat oven to 190°c.

• Heat the soup in a pan along with the thyme, chicken skin and wings if you have them. They will help colour the sauce.

• In a separate pan make a roux by melting the margarine and stirring the flour into it to form a smooth paste. Keep stirring for a few minutes to cook out the flour.

• Remove the thyme sprigs, wings and skin and gradually add the stock — whisking all the time to create a smooth sauce.

• Stir in the frozen vegetables and chicken, and ladle into individual pie dishes or a larger sharing dish. Once the mixture is completely cool, cover each pie with pastry.

• Brush the tops with beaten egg and make a small hole in the top to allow the steam to escape.

• Bake until the pastry is well risen and golden (about 20 minutes) and the filling is bubbling.
  
  louismann / thebutchersdaughter