I was surprised to find myself hankering for eating out today. Not just hankering for restaurant food, but mostly interested in the experience of going out and having fun. But we’re still in our Eat-Out Challenge for November, so I’m soldiering on by cooking some great home-cooked meals and trying out some new recipes.
What better way to completely forget about ho-hum hamburgers or burritos than to whip up your own, savory chicken pot pie from scratch? I’ve been thinking about making this since before we moved but haven’t had the opportunity yet. Coincidentally, when I asked Bart what he’d like for me to cook this week, he also suggested chicken pot pie. Well, the people have spoken, so here we go.
I based my recipe off the Pioneer Woman’s Pot Pie recipe and this one from Simply Scratch, and Bart raved so much about it he said I’m not allowed to change anything. So here’s how it all went down.
First, I started with a pie crust. Pie crust is one of those things that is very subjective to each cook; everyone seems to have their perfect recipe, but I’ve never found one I liked. This one is too sticky, that one is too tough, this one here tears up when I try to roll it out. I’ve tried just about every tip and trick in the book, but I’ve still never found “the one.” So I’m always willing to give a new one a try, just in case. Simply Scratch recommended Melissa D’Arabian’s pie crust recipe, so I decided to go with it. It turned out very well, actually, so I’m happy to share this one with you.
First, take two sticks of butter and slice them up; it’s not critical how big the cubes are. I put these on a plate and stashed them in the freezer until I was ready for them. Keeping them cold is important, as that keep the crust tender and flaky.
Next, I filled a cup with water and added a couple of cubes of ice. The amount isn’t vital, you just want to be able to dip out a tablespoon of it at a time. And again, cold water is important. Then I got out my food processor and added 2 1/4 cups of flour and one teaspoon of salt. At this point, I was ready for the cold butter, so I pulled it out of the fridge and added it to the food processor.
I pulsed a few times to get the butter incorporated; you don’t want to heat it up too much. Next, add one tablespoon of ice water at a time and pulse briefly between (I confess, I added two tablespoons at a time at first, and scaled it back after the first six or so). Somewhere between six and ten tablespoons later, you should get a moist yet somewhat crumbly dough that sticks together. At this point, dump your dough out and form it into one big ball. Then cut it in half, as this recipe is enough for two crusts (whew, thank goodness; only one single stick of butter per crust. I was getting worried).
Wrap in plastic wrap and pop it into the refrigerator to chill for about thirty minutes. You’ll need one for the pot pie, but you can use the other half to make a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving in a couple of weeks. You’re welcome. Just wrap in plastic wrap and keep in the freezer until you’re ready to use it.
Now I turned my attention to the main attraction. I preheated the oven to 375 degrees, then started off by chopping up two carrots, two celery stalks, and about a third of an onion (you could use more if you prefer). I made these into a fairly fine dice.
Now, I added two tablespoons of butter into a heavy pot. Then I felt guilty about skimping so much on the atrocious amounts suggested by Pioneer Woman and Simply Scratch and added one more. Once melted, I added my aromatics to the pot to saute until somewhat soft, something like 10 minutes for me. You can also watch for the onions to become translucent. I also added about a teaspoon of salt to help soften them up as they cooked.
Once those are good and soft, stir in two cups of cooked, shredded or diced chicken and 1/4 cup of flour. Cooking the flour a couple of minutes with the butter helps make a thicker roux base for the filling.
After two or three minutes, I added three cups of chicken broth and one cup of milk. You could go with cream here, but I was already feeling guilty about all the butter, so I passed on that for today. I then add about a teaspoon or so of black pepper, dried parsley, dried thyme, and some more salt, but you can do this to your taste. And, at the Pioneer Woman’s suggestion, I threw in 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric. I let that cook until it was thickened and bubbly; I did mine for ten minutes or so, but less would probably suffice.
While this was simmering, I turned my attention back to the crust. I took one of the two pieces out of the oven and laid it on a lightly floured counter top. I carefully rolled it out to about an inch or two wider than the dish I planned to use, which was a round, 2 1/2 quart Corningware casserole dish. Fortunately for me, the edges don’t have to be pretty.
At this point, I transferred my filling to my casserole dish. Doing this without splashing hot liquid all over yourself is a little bit terror-inducing, but I managed.
Let this sit a few minutes so it isn’t scalding hot, or it will melt your delicate buttery crust. Once you do apply the crust, work quickly; I saw mine start to get a little melty before getting it into the oven because I was being slow and taking pictures. Crimp down the edges around the rim of the dish, and poke a few vent holes in the top. If you are slow and the crust gets melty, your vent holes will close up (not that I know this from experience).
Finally, I topped off my crust with an egg wash. At this point, Bart was done with work, so I tasked him with this job. He lightly beat one egg with a tablespoon or so of water, then used a brush to spread it all over the crust. This will give you a fancy sheen on your crust, but it isn’t strictly necessary.
Finally, I trimmed up the edge a little, and into the oven it went for right at twenty minutes (that was on normal bake, not convection). When it was beautifully golden, I pulled it out.
Oh, and what do you do with those last little slivers of crust that you cut off the edge? Bake them up and have them for dessert! Just add a little cinnamon-sugar or some chocolate chips.
Crunching through the crust with a spoon and dishing out a big helping is very satisfying, but not as satisfying as chowing down. Delicious. Bart raved about the recipe, and that made me super happy, too. This is a perfect comfort food for cool autumn evenings, so you should definitely give it a try.
Jennifer’s Chicken Pot Pie
For the pie crust
- 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter, cubed and chilled
- 2 1/4 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 8 to 10 tablespoons ice water
For the filling
- 3 tablespoons of butter
- 2 carrots, finely diced
- 2 celery stalks, finely diced
- 1/2 to 1 whole onion, finely diced (we usually prefer less onion, but you might prefer more)
- one teaspoon or so of salt
- 2 cups cooked chicken, diced or shredded
- 1/4 cup flour
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup milk, or cream if you’re going all-in
- about one teaspoon each of pepper, dried parsley, dried thyme, and salt, whatever is to your taste
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- one egg, plus about one tablespoon of water
Prepare your pie crust first: cube two sticks of butter, then keep cold in the freezer until ready to use. Prepare a glass of water with a couple of cubes of ice. Add 2 1/4 cups flour and 1 teaspoon salt to a food processor, then add the butter and pulse for a couple of seconds. Add one tablespoon of ice water at a time, pulsing briefly between, until dough is moist and sticks together, about six to ten tablespoons. Remove dough from food processor and form a disk; divide in two, wrap in plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator for about thirty minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. For the filling, finely dice two carrots, two onions, and two stalks of celery. Melt 2-3 tablespoons of butter in a pot, then add cut veggies with a teaspoon of salt to saute and soften, about 10 minutes. Add two cups chicken and 1/4 cup flour; stir and cook for another two minutes. Add chicken broth and milk along with seasonings to taste. Cook and let thicken, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, remove one half of the pie crust recipe from the refrigerator. On lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1-2 inches larger all around than the dish you will be using (approximately 2 to 2 1/2 quarts). Next, lightly beat one egg with about a tablespoon of water for an egg wash.
Once filling has thickened, transfer from pot to baking dish. Wait a few minutes to let the filling cool off a bit. Then place the crust over the dish, working fast to crimp the edge over the rim, trim the excess dough, cut slits for vents, and brush on egg wash. Bake for about 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown and beautiful.
[…] dinner I’m thinking of making my chicken pot pie to round out my culinary tribute to pi with a savory […]