Chicken Pot Pie
This has a lot of ingredients but it ain't difficult, and my goodness is it ever worth it. And ‘my goodness’ is not a term I throw around loosely.
quickie
• Make the pastry
• Roast the chicken
• Smash up the veg
• Make the filling
• Assemble
• Eat till it hurts
HAWT TIPs:
• I usually double the recipe and freeze one. All of the pics below are of a doubled recipe.
• If you don’t like a soggy bottom crust you can pre-bake the pastry. I don’t bother with this cause I like a flaky top crust and a goo saturated bottom crust.
Serves:
• 4-6
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT:
• A deep pie dish (2” sides), or deep foil container (9” x 6 ½” or similar)
Nutritional information:
• I love this pie and just went back for thirds.. think I’m gonna barf.. don’t talk to me about nutritional information
Grocery List:
• 1 double pie crust
• 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 ½ cups sliced mushrooms
• 1 ¾ cups chopped yellow onion
• ¾ cup sliced carrot (1-2 carrots)
• ¾ cup sliced celery (1-2 sticks)
• ¾ cup chopped parsley
• 2 ½ cups low sodium chicken stock
• 1 ½ chicken bouillon cubes
• ½ stick unsalted butter (¼ cup)
• 6 tbsp all purpose flour
• ¾ cup frozen peas
• ⅓ cup heavy cream
• 1 egg (optional; for eggwash)
LESS quickie
Step 1: Pastry
You need a double pie crust (a top and bottom). If you're using store bought pastry use this time to learn a new skill, like javelin. If you’re making your own, this is my favourite (and it’s easy too!) but it needs to be made ahead of time so it can settle in the fridge for 2 hours.
Step 2: Chicken
Preheat the oven to 350F. Slather the chicken breasts in olive oil, and give them a healthy sprinkling of salt and pepper. Roast for 25-30 minutes, until they’re cooked through but just barely.. you want them still juicy, and they will cook again in the pie. Let them cool, then cut the chicken into roughly 3/4" pieces.
Step 3: Veg prep
Heat up a large skillet on medium/low with a splash of oil. Slice the mushrooms (2 ½ cups) and sauté for about 10 minutes to remove some of the moisture. Remove them from the skillet and set them aside.
Chop the onions (1 ¾ cups), slice up the carrots (¾ cup) and celery (¾ cup), and mince the parsley (¾ cup). I suppose that was an unnecessary amount of cutting terms. Smash the shit up however you see fit. Keep the onions and carrots separate.
Step 4: Pots & pans
In a large pot, heat up the chicken stock (2 ½ cups) and the bouillon cubes on medium heat.
Simultaneously, using all your simultaneous skills, heat up the skillet formerly known as the mushroom skillet on medium heat and melt the butter. Sauté the onions in the butter for 7 minutes until starting to turn golden. Add the carrots and continue sautéing for another 4 minutes. Slowly add the flour (6 tbsp) and stir constantly while sautéing for another 2 minutes. This will turn pasty and gross like how you picture Donald Trump’s thigh meat. Probably. Scrape the bottom as you go so the flour doesn’t stick and burn.
Step 5: Goop
Add the onions and carrots to the stock and simmer for 2 minutes while stirring. Add the cubed chicken, mushrooms, celery, parsley and peas (¾ cup). Stir in the heavy cream (6 tbsp).
Season with salt and pepper to taste. I use 1 tsp coarse kosher salt and around ¾ tsp freshly ground pepper.
Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool while you roll out your pastry.
Step 6: Pastry & Assembly
Preheat the oven to 375F.
Drape the bottom pie pastry into the pie plate, gently pushing it into the corners. Spoon in the filling, and lay the top pastry over, sealing and then crimping the edges. If you want a tutorial there are countless videos of white ladies sealing and crimping pies. Cut slits in the top for steam to escape. If you like shiny things, brush the top with eggwash (1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water).
Place the pie plate on a baking sheet and bake for about an hour (start watching it around the 45 minute mark) until the crust is nicely golden.
It will set better and be less runny if you let it cool for 30 minutes or longer before slicing into it but I find that nearly impossible. Go. To. Town.
