Ham and Mushroom Pies: Individual Pies

Pies are a popular teatime option in my household. Often, I make a large pie for everyone to share. However, I occasionally go to the effort of making individual pies as the kids think they are important if they each get their own. One of the simplest individual pies to make is a ham and mushroom pie.

I make this when I have leftover ham from a gammon joint, although you can just as easily use sliced meat from a packet or even replace this ingredient with cooked bacon. Just use whatever you have in at home.

It is also one of my pie recipes that uses what I call a ‘cheat ingredient’ as it contains a tin of condensed mushroom soup instead of making a mushroom sauce. Using tinned soup saves a lot of time and is also a cheaper option, so it is a budget-friendly meal.

Here is an easy pie recipe for individual ham and mushroom pies.

Preparation time:	30 minutes
Cooking time:	40 minutes
Servings:	6
Vegetarian/ vegan:	NO
Dairy-free:	NO
Gluten-free:	NO

Ingredients for Individual Ham and Mushroom Pies

For the pie crust:

• 12 oz. plain white flour
• 3 oz. butter
• 3 oz. lard (see tips)
• 1 beaten egg for the pastry
• 1 beaten egg for the glaze
• ½ tsp. salt

For the pie filling:

• 4 thick slices of ham
• 6 button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tin of condensed mushroom soup
• 2 tsp of parsley
• Black pepper

How to Make Individual Ham and Mushroom Pies

Preparing the Pastry

1. First, make the pastry.
2. Measure out the flour and put it into a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the salt.
4. Then, weigh the butter and lard and add them to the bowl.
5. Crumb the mixture by rubbing the fats and flour together in your fingers.
6. Beat one of the eggs and add to the bowl.
7. Mix the crumb mixture and egg to form a pastry dough. If it is too crumbly to bind, add a little water.
8. Cover the bowl with climb film and put the pastry into the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Preparing the Other Ingredients

1. If you are using bacon instead of ham, cook the bacon now.
2. Preheat the oven to 200C// gas mark 7.
3. Shred your leftover or sliced ham and slice your button mushrooms thinly.
4. Tip your condensed mushroom soup into a bowl.
5. Add the black pepper and the parsley to the soup and stir through.

Cooking the Pastry Cases

1. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and roll until it is about 0.5 centimetres thick. Cut six discs that are large enough to fill the base and sides of your individual pie or tartlet tins, with a little overhang. This is because pastry shrinks in the oven.
2. Put some greaseproof paper or tinfoil in the base of the pies, then add some baking beads to the base of each of the individual pie tins.
3. Put the tins into the oven for 10 minutes until the pastry is turning lightly brown.
4. While the pie tins are in the oven, cut six discs large enough to make tops for the pies. You may need to gather up your pastry scraps and reroll.
5. Beat the second egg in a cup, then remove the pastry tins from the oven.
6. Take out the greaseproof paper/ tinfoil and the baking beads.
7. Use a sharp knife to cut away any overhanging pastry from the tins.

Assembling Your Ham and Mushroom Pies

1. Brush the beaten egg around the top of the pastry cases using a pastry brush.
2. Also, brush the egg around the edge of the pastry lids you have prepared.
3. Add a layer of the sliced mushrooms to the base of the pie case.
4. Then, add some of the shredded ham or bacon.
5. Next, spoon over some of the mushroom soup, black pepper, and parsley mixture.
6. Add a pie lid to each of the pies, making sure that the sides of the pastry brushed with egg meet. This will help the pastry to join and prevent the pie filling from leaking.
7. Then, squeeze the edges of the pastry case ad lid together to form a seal. You can do this using your fingers or by pressing them together with a fork.
8. Next, brush the top of the pies with the beaten egg using a pastry brush. This is a glaze that will give your pies a golden appearance.
9. Poke a small hole in the top of the pie to allow steam out and stop them from bursting open in the oven.

Cooking the Pies

1. Return the pies to the oven for 25 minutes or until they have turned golden brown.
2. Finally, serve the ham and mushroom pies with your favourite potatoes and vegetables.

Additional Tips

• You might also like to try our individual cheese and onion pies.
• If you have leftover stock from the ham, use this to make a gravy to serve with this meal.
• Instead of using lard, you can make the pastry using 6 oz. butter if you prefer.