Corned Beef Soup Under Cover

Ingredients

• 6 slices bacon, cut crosswise into 1/4 inch pieces
• 1 1/4 cups onions, chopped fine
• 1 cup sliced carrot
• 6 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/8 inch cubes
• 5 cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/2 lb corned beef, sliced and cut into 1/2 inch by 2 inch strips (a thick cut deli slice works really well)
• 1 teaspoon salt (to taste)
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 (17 ounce) package frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon cold water

Directions

1. 1

   In a soup pot set over medium heat, saute' bacon until crisp.

2. 2

   Add onion and saute' with bacon until slighly softened, about 2 minutes.

3. 3

   Add carrots and potatoes and toss together. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook 3 minutes.

4. 4

   Add stock and mustard to pot and stir to blend. Then stir in corned beef and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and gently simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

5. 5

   While soup is simmering, prepare pastry tops. On a floured surface, flatten one pastry sheet (approximately 11-inch square). Cut 4 pastry rounds, each about 5 1/2 inches in diameter or about 1 inch wider than the total diameter of the ramekins. (Note: I used coffee mugs and simply cut the pastry sheet into fourths instead of doing a circle) Repeat with remaining pastry sheet. Cut a 1/2 inch circle in the center (a plain 1/2 inch pastry tip works well) to allow steam to escape while baking. Cover and refrigerate pastry until needed.

6. 6

   When soup is done, fill eight 1-cup ramekins to within 1/2 inch of the top. Whisk egg with water in a small bowl and brush one side of each pastry round with the egg mixture. Carefully place the pastry round, glazed side down, over each ramekin. Firmly press overlapping pastry against the outside of each ramekin. Be carefull not to press down from the top to avoid tearing the dough on the edges of the ramekin. Press tines of a fork around pastry sides to make it adhere slightly to the ramekin.

7. 7

   Brush tops and sides of pastries with egg glaze. Place ramekins on baking sheet, cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.

8. 8

   Place oven rack at center position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Remove plastic wrap and bake ramekins until pastry is golden brown and puffed, 18 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.