12oz/ 340g baconroughly cut in to 1 cm strips (1 lb packet is OK too)
7oz/ 200g brown mushroomsbaby bella / swiss brown, thinly sliced
Leavesof 3-4 sprigs of thyme
2tbspfinely chopped parsley
1tbspcornflour
1tspchili flakesless if you prefer less heat
1tsppaprika
1tspblack pepper
salt to taste
2tspspicy mustard
¼cupmilkany kind is OK
8small - medium eggs
1egg lightly beaten - for the egg wash
Instructions
Heat a pan on medium-high heat. Add the bacon when the pan is hot and fry till the edges start to brown.
Drain the bacon fat, but do not discard it. Add mushrooms, paprika, chili flakes, pepper and thyme and cook until the mushrooms start to turn a golden colour at the edges. Add salt to taste (this will depend on the salt content of the bacon).
Add about 2 tbsp of the bacon fat (or oil or butter) and sprinkle the cornflour over the bacon-mushroom, and mix through.
Add the parsley, milk and mustard and mix well. Let the mixture thicken up slightly (which should take only a couple of minutes). Remove from the heat and let it cool completely.
To make the pies
Preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C. Place a baking sheet in the oven to preheat as well. Grease 4 pie tins that are 5 inches/13 cm in diameter.
Roll out the puff pastry until it's about 3 mm thick. If you have puff pastry sheets that are thicker than 3mm, roll them out to this thickness.
Cut out circles slightly larger than the top of the pie tins (this will be to cover the pies).
Line the four pie tins with the rest of the puff pastry, and fill ⅔ of the way with the cooled bacon and mushroom filling. Break two of the eggs on top and sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper. Use a fork to lightly mix the egg whites with the filling.
Place the puff pastry circle that you cut out earlier over your pie and press it down gently over the edges to seal it rouhly. You can seal it using a fork if you like.
Brush the tops with some egg wash and bake in preheated oven, on the preheated baking sheet until the pastry is golden coloured and has puffed up (about 15-20 minutes).
Remove from the oven and let them cool down a little.
Serve while warm.
Notes
Notes on freezing - If you'd like to freeze your pies before baking, I would recommend adding half of the filling, then add the eggs next (break the yolk), and then top up with the rest of the filling. Alternatively, you could add cooked scrambled eggs (if you don't like freezing your pies with raw eggs, but mind you, your filling will come out a little drier this way). Remember to add salt and pepper to the eggs too. You can bake them from frozen, but this will take longer. I would suggest thawing them out in the fridge overnight. If you're baking the pies the following day, you can just keep them in the fridge, covered in plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out.Notes on Variations - You can add some grated cheese along with the filling for some cheesy goodness. Substitute thyme with any herb of your choice. Or even substitute the bacon with cooked chicken.