chicken pot pie

Tonight's dinner was a first for me. I've had chicken pot pie before but have never made it before. I remember growing up eating the frozen 'ready in 15 minutes' individual pies, but they weren't really good at all...

I decided that I could do better and wanted to try my hand at making it from scratch. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be and the results were fantastic. It was oddly satisfying making the roux and chopping up all the vegetables. The pastry was easy and made a crunchy, flakey crust.

I highly recommend this recipe. It makes a ton and can easily be adapted to add whatever veggies you have on hand. We loaded it up with carrots, broccoli, onions, peas, fennel, and celery.

Chicken Pot Pie

3 chicken breasts, skinless, boneless
1 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
3 cups chicken stock
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup diced carrots,
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

Pie crust ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, diced into 1/2-inch cubes (best to chill cubes in the freezer for at least 15 minutes before using)
1/4 cup vegetable shortening, chilled
3 to 4 Tbsp ice water

Place the chicken breasts on a plate and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Sauté in pan for 15 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Cut the chicken into large dice.

In a large pot, melt the butter and sauté the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, onions and parsley. Mix well. If the mixture is too thick, add more stock to thin out. If too thin, add more flour.

For the pastry: Combine the flour and salt in a food processor. Add the chilled butter cubes and pulse 5 times to combine. And the shortening and pulse a few more times, until the dough resembles a coarse cornmeal, with some pea-sized pieces of butter. Slowly stream in ice water, a tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition, until the dough sticks together when you press some between your fingers. Empty the food processor, placing the dough on a clean surface. Use your hands to mold into a ball, then flatten the ball into a disk. Sprinkle with a little flour, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Pour filling into oven proof casserole dish. Roll out dough to fit the top of your casserole dish. Brush the outside edges of each bowl with the egg wash, then place the dough on top. Trim the circle to 1/2-inch larger than the top of the bowl. Crimp the dough to fold over the side, pressing it to make it stick. Brush the dough with egg wash and make 3 slits in the top. Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.