Online Recipe Book

Pot Pie 3

Source
American Classics, by America's Test Kitchen, c2002, page 177
Yield
3 to 4 servings
Prep info
15 min prep (excluding dough prep) + 20 min cook + 30 min bake
Prep time
Not set
Cook time
1 hour, 5 minutes
Time required
1 hour, 5 minutes
Oven preheat
400F
Type
Mains - Misc
Status
Tried
Tags

Ingredients

  • pie crust (or biscuit topping, see note)
  • 3/4 lb chicken (boneless skinless, breasts and/or thighs)
  • 1 c chicken broth (canned low-sodium)
  • 2 t vegetable oil
  • 1/2 c finely chopped onion
  • 1.5 carrots (medium, peeled and cut crosswise 1/4" thick)
  • 1 celery stalks (small, cut crosswise 1/4" thick)
  • salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 57 g butter (unsalted) (1/4 cup)
  • 1/4 c flour
  • 3/4 c milk
  • 1/4 t dried thyme
  • 1.5 T sherry
  • 1/3 c frozen peas (thawed)
  • 1.5 T minced parsley (fresh)

Method

1. Make the pie dough or biscuit topping and refrigerate it until ready to use.

2. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 400F/200C.  Put the chicken and broth in a small Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat.  Cover, bring to a simmer; simmer until the chicken is just done, 8-10 minutes.  Transfer the chicken to a large bowl, reserving the broth in a measuring cup.

3. Increase the heat to medium-high; heat the oil in the now-empty pan.  Add the onion, carrots, and celery; saute until just tender, about 5 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  While the vegetables are sauteing, shred the meat into bite-sized pieces.  Transfer the cooked vegetables to a bowl with the chicken; set aside.

4. Heat the butter over medium heat in the empty pan.  When the foaming subsides, add the flour; cook about 1 minute.  Whisk in the chicken broth, milk, any accumulated chicken juices, and thyme.  Bring to a simmer, then continue to simmer until the sauce fully thickens, about 1 minute.  Season to taste with salt and pepper; stir in the sherry.

5. Pour the sauce over the chicken mixture; stir to combine.  Stir in the peas and parsley.  Adjust the seasonings.  (Can be covered and refrigerated overnight; reheat before topping with the pastry).  Pour the mixture into a 9" round pan or an 8" square pan (or shallow baking dish of similar size) or three 12-ounce ovenproof dishes.  Top with desired pastry dough; bake until the pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly, 30 minutes for large pie and 20 to 25 minutes for smaller pies.  Serve hot.

Notes

SJ Note: I've halved this from its source.  If you double it, use a 9"x13" pan to bake it in.  It's designed to be used with "Savory Pie Dough Topping" ( http://myst.starforge.co.uk/index.cgi?block=3&op=view&id=628 ) or "Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuit Topping" ( http://myst.starforge.co.uk/index.cgi?block=3&op=view&id=629 ).

SJ Note 12 Feb 2012: Tried this with the savory pie dough topping above.  The filling was tasty, and we'll have this again.  The pie dough was horrible - first it was awful to work with, needed every trick in the book just to get it into the pan, even sacrificing looks - then it was awful to eat, it tasted powdery.  Definitely won't use that again.