Savoury Cupcakes

Sometimes dinnertime with picky eaters is far easier when you’re having fun. This is a chicken pie disguised as savoury cupcakes.

Today was the coldest is has been so far this Autumn and the first day I really struggled to persuade the nearly 4 year old to walk home from Naíonra (Irish Language Montessori) with me. It took the best part of 90 minutes to walk from the school to our house.

There was a point where I really wondered what the heck I was doing bringing him to the other side of the town, such a far walk away, to go to school. It came somewhere between the church and the courthouse when he was wailing at the top of his lungs that he didn’t want to wear a coat, his feet hurt and he was tired while at the same time the baby was crying because the wind was on his face.  My ears just ached from the noise of the pair of them clamouring at once.

I got home and dinner had to be made. We were all miserable, cold and cranky. I noticed that somebody in my timeline had mentioned that it was International Cupcake Week. The nearly 4 year old is obsessed with cupcakes.

Chicken pie is the second meal that I make from my 3-dinner roast chicken, the third being the chicken noodle soup that I posted on Sunday. So I figured why not make him a cupcake for dinner.

Dinner this evening has been a source of much laughter and lightness around the dinner table.  What’s even better is he ate it all, every single bite, without one moan or complaint. I’m pretty sure the 13 year old will request these next.

Making a savoury cupcake is not as hard as it seems, but it does require a little planning ahead because you need to make sure that your mashed potato is relatively cool when you’re piping as otherwise you will burn your hands!

This recipe feels a family of 5 easily and is designed to use up the left over meat on a chicken carcass the day after a roast dinner.

Ingredients

• 6 medium potatoes
• 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons of plain flour
• 2 medium carrots
• 2 cups of whole milk
• 2 cups of chicken stock
• 2 cupfuls of chicken meat (cooked)

Equipment

• 1 large saucepan with steamer & lid for the potatoes
• Vegetable peeler
• Sharp knife
• Chopping Board
• 1 medium saucepan for the sauce
• Large mug
• Potato masher
• Piping bag & nozzle
• 1 large spoon
• Muffin tin
• 12 Greaseproof (very important) muffin cases

Method

1. Peel and slice the potatoes into fairly evenly matched sizes.
2. Place into the steamer section of your large saucepan.
3. Half fill the bottom of the saucepan with water, put the steamer on top with the lid and put onto a medium setting on your hob.
4. Steam the potatoes until cooked through but not mushy.
5. Once cooked, remove the pot from the heat and let the lid off.
6. In the meantime slice the onion and garlic into small dice.
7. Put the small saucepan on the hob on a medium setting with the sunflower oil inside.
8. Gently fry the onion and garlic in the oil for about 7-10 minutes until they go soft.
9. Peel and chop the carrots into small pieces.
10. Pour 1 cupful of milk into your mug and microwave for 1 minute.
11. Pour 2 tablespoons of flour into the vegetables in the pot and stir well with a spoon until they are well coated.
12. Continue stirring for a further 2 minutes so that the flour cooks a little.
13. Pour the hot milk on top of the flour and stir again until it is well mixed into a paste.
14. Fill the mug again with another cupful of milk and microwave for 1 minute, leave it there for a while.
15. Slowly, bit by bit, pour the chicken stock into the pot. Stirring all the time.
16. Once the liquid has mixed completely with the paste, keep on stirring until it comes to a simmer.
17. Add the carrots and turn the heat onto low.
18. Leave to simmer for approximately 10 minutes.
19. Mash the potatoes well.  They should still be hot.
20. Pour in the hot milk that you heated already and mash again.
21. The hot milk on the hot potatoes will make for a nice smooth mash.
22. Turn the heat off the sauce.
23. Preheat your (fan) oven to 200 degrees Celcius.
24. Put the chicken pieces into the sauce and stir until they are coated well.
25. Line your muffin tray with greaseproof cases.
26. Using a spoon divide the sauce equally between all the cases.
27. Make sure not to fill higher than halfway as the sauce will bubble up.
28. Clean your spoon.
29. Attach your nozzle to your piping bag.
30. Using your spoon fill the piping bag with the mashed potato.
31. Pipe the potato on top of the chicken sauce.
32. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes.
33. Serve with plenty of laughter!