Ham and Cheese Pies
Serves: 4
Tasty Ham and Cheese Pies which are a great way of using leftovers. These pies are filled with ham, béchamel sauce and vegetables, but you can use any leftover meats and vegetables you like. Perfect for snacks and light meals.
Ingredients
For the Béchamel Sauce
- 30 g (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 30 g (¼ cup) plain flour, (all-purpose flour)
- ½ chicken stock cube, optional
- 500 ml (2 cups) milk
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
For the Pies
- 100 g (3 ½ oz) Comté, Gruyère or Cheddar cheese, cut into 1cm chunks
- ham, or other cooked meat, e.g. shredded roast chicken
- boiled potatoes, cut into 1 cm chunks
- boiled carrots, cut into 1 cm chunks
- chives or parsley, finely chopped
- 4-6 sheets puff pastry
For the Egg Wash
- 1 egg
- 1 dash milk
Instructions
- For the Béchamel Sauce (for step-by-step photos, please see my recipe for Béchamel Sauce)
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the flour and stock cube (if using) and cook the paste for about 5 minutes.
- Slowly whisk in the milk.
- Simmer gently until the sauce thickens to the consistency of double cream.
- Remove the pan from the heat, add some freshly grated nutmeg, and leave to cool completely.
- The sauce will thicken more upon cooling.
For the Hand Pies
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F) (without fan).
- Place the cheese, meat, vegetables and herbs into a large bowl.
- Add enough béchamel sauce to bind everything together.
- Cut out rounds from the puff pastry, about 12-16 cm (5-6 inches) in diameter.
- Spoon some of the filling onto one side of the pastry, fold over and use a fork to seal the edges.
- Brush with egg wash and bake for about 30 minutes until they are lightly golden.
Kitchen Notes
- MAKE AHEAD TIPS
As the Béchamel sauce needs to be cold before assembling these pies, you can make the Béchamel sauce ahead of time (up to 2-3 days) and keep it in the fridge until ready to use. - USE A MUFFIN PAN
You can also use this recipe to make more traditional looking pies in muffin tins or even a large pie tin. Simply line the tins with puff pastry with enough for overhang, fill with the mixture, and cover with another layer of puff pastry. Trim the edges and brush with egg wash before baking. - USE A PIE MAKER
This filling would be great in small pies made using a pie maker. Please see my recipe for Pie Maker Meat Pies for instructions. - VARIATIONS
Please treat this recipe as a guide and use any meats or vegetables you like. Other suggestions include: * leftover roast or boiled chicken, shredded * leftover cooked firm white fish, flaked * frozen peas * mix of frozen peas, carrots and corn - FREEZER TIPS
You can make these pastry puffs ahead of time (omit the egg wash) and freeze them in freezer bags for a couple of months. Brush with egg wash just before baking, and bake them from frozen. - RECIPE CREDIT
This recipe is adapted from My Little French Kitchen by Rachel Khoo. - OVEN & STOVE TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website have been tested on an induction stove and/or with a conventional oven (i.e. an oven without fan). All recipes on this website use temperatures for a conventional oven, unless otherwise mentioned. Convection ovens (i.e. fan-forced ovens) are typically 20°C/70°F hotter than conventional ovens, but please check your manufacturer’s handbook. - CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.