Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie – the king of comfort food. I love comfort food. The aroma as you burst through the pasty crust…heavenly. The velvety sauce mixed with vegetables and plump pieces of chicken…aaaahhh. I admit that I even loved those little frozen Swanson chicken pot pies back in the 60’s. I can assure you, though, this recipe is a zillion times better.

Here are a few pluses and minuses for this recipe:

On the minus side, it has multiple steps and takes a couple of hours from start to finish. And, it is definitely not low calorie.

On the plus (plus, plus) side:

You can take several shortcuts (see below) that cut the time in half and still produce a really, really good pot pie. I’ve used these shortcuts many times with great success;
The recipe can be made ahead the day before (or even months ahead if you freeze it), making it ideal for a no-fuss weeknight meal or a dinner party with no last minute stress;
Pot Pies are versatile– use only one or two vegetables or replace the ones in the recipe with ones you like better; and
You can make the recipe totally vegetarian;

Considering all that and the sheer scrumptious-ness of this dish, it’s definitely worth the effort in my opinion. Come to think of it, it’s not just my opinion. I adapted this recipe from Ina Garten’s Chicken Pot Pie which got 4.9* (out of 5) from over 1000 reviews. Ina Garten is one of my favourite chefs.

: blanched vegetables

: pastry dough ready to roll

: vegetables and chicken in sauce

: individual bowls filled

: ready to bake

: Chicken Pot Pie for a kook

: Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie

Created by Cheryl on April 6, 2016

Prep Time:1h
Cook Time:1h
Total Time:2h

Yield: 4 individual pot pies

Ingredients

2 whole (4 split) chicken breasts, skin on, bone in
1 tablespoon olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
5 cups homemade chicken stock (I used Knor chicken broth instead)
2 chicken boullion cubes
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 and 1/2 sticks)
2 cups chopped onions (about 2 onions)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cream (I use half and half)
2 cups carrots, diced (1/2 to 3/4 inch)
2 cups celery, diced (1/2 to 3/4 inch)
2 cups potatoes, peeled and diced (1/2 to 3/4 inch)
2 cups frozen peas
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

For pastry crust

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 pound (one stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place chicken on foil-lined plan, rub with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, roast for 35-40 minutes until done (165F)
When chicken is cool enough to handle, take skin off, remove meat from bones and dice into chunks (e.g. 1.5 inches). You will have 3-4 cups. (see SHORTCUT below)
Blanch (boil) vegetables in a pot of boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.

To make pastry crust:

Mix flour, baking powder and salt in bowl of food processor fitted with metal blade.
Add butter and shortening. Use your fingers to make sure each piece is covered in flour (watch your fingers! better yet, use a spoon). Pulse processor 10 times.
With motor running, start adding 1/2 cup ice water and process just until dough is moistened and comes together (you may need a bit more ice water).
Place dough on floured surface and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap in plastic and then let it rest in fridge for 30 minutes.

To Make sauce:

In a medium saucepan, heat stock with boullion cubes until cubes are dissolved.
In a large pot, melt butter and saute onions over medium heat until translucent, 10 minutes
Mix in flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the hot stock, whisking to combine well. Cook a few minutes until sauce is thickened.
Add 2 teaspoons salt (or to taste), 1/2 teaspoon pepper. and cream.
Add chicken, blanched vegetables and peas to the sauce. Stir.

To assemble and bake

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Divide chicken mixture evenly among 4 oven-proof bowls.
Divide the dough in 4 pieces and roll each piece in an 8 inch circle. Dough should be about 1/4 inch thick.
Spray some oil on your fingers and brush them along the outside edge of the bowls (and down the side about an inch). This will make clean up much easier.
For each pot pie, place the dough on the filled bowl, mold or crimp over the sides and trim to 1/2 inch overhang.
(At this point, you can put the individual pies in the fridge covered.)
Brush the dough with egg wash and make 3 slits on the top. Decorate with bits of extra dough if you like.
Place pot pies on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 1 hour until golden brown.

Make Ahead

to freeze, wrap the chicken pot pies in aluminum foil and then in plastic wrap. Bake, from frozen, after brushing with egg wash, at 375F for an hour. *** If you plan to freeze the pot pies, do not use boiling potatoes. Either eliminate potatoes completely or use red or ‘new’ potatoes which hold up in the freezer much better.
if using the next day, cover the pot pies with aluminum foil. Remove from fridge, brush with egg wash then bake at 375F for an hour.

Shortcuts

Instead of roasting the chicken: use left over chicken; chicken from a soup you just made; or BUY 1-2 rotisserie chickens (2 if you only want to use breast mean). I do the latter all the time and it’s perfect.
Instead of making the pastry crust, BUY puff pastry dough sheets, unfold and cut to size as needed. This crust is delicious! buttery and flaky. You can also BUY ready-made refrigerated pastry dough. If you can’t find this in the store, you can use the ready made refrigerated pie shells. Just roll out flat and cut to size.
Reduce the preparation time by using just chicken and frozen peas or chicken and one other vegetable.

Variations

Make vegetarian pot pies, using vegetable or mushroom broth and vegetable bouillion cubes, omitting the chicken
Alter the vegetables. Try butternut squash, mushrooms, pearl onions, cauliflower, sugar snap peas, etc.
Instead of individual bowls (onion soup bowls or oven-proof soup bowls), use a 3 quart casserole dish.