1. Preheat the oven to 220°C on bake, or 200°C on fan bake. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
2. Heat vegetable oil in a high-sided frying pan over a medium-high heat. Once hot, cook the chicken thighs 4-5 minutes either side until golden brown and cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan, then add the bacon pieces. Fry until crisp, about 4-5 minutes.
3. Add the onion and mushroom and sauté until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes.
4. Tip in the flour, and stir vigorously to combine and form a thick paste.
5. Gradually pour in the stock and milk, continuing to stir until you have a gravy-like sauce. Add the thyme, then bring to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat to low and simmer until medium-thick.
6. Shred the cooked thighs, then add them to the sauce and remove it from the heat.
7. Pour the filling into a pie dish or ceramic baking dish of your choice. Top with puff pastry sheets, folding any excess over the rim to create a seal. Add slashes on top of the pastry to create steam vents then brush with beaten egg.
8. Bake in the oven for 25-35 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and shiny. 

To serve

Make a meal out of it and serve hot with steamed greens, like broccoli or beans. 

Tips

Want to save your pies for later? You can freeze these pies prior to cooking! Just take them out a few hours before you cook them to allow them to defrost before placing them in the oven. 

FAQs

Can the puff pastry also go on the bottom of the ceramic dish?

This is not necessary for the recipe, but if you would like the pie to be completely enclosed in pastry then yes! While it might sound a little strange using puff pastry for the base of the pie (since all the puffiness is going to be squashed down with pie filling), it does work.

How do you keep the pie from getting soggy on the bottom? 

We find that sprinkling dried breadcrumbs, crushed cornflakes, or other types of cereal on the bottom crust before filling and baking in the oven helps to prevent the filling from turning the crust soggy.