Chicken Pot Pie
Chicken Pot Pie
Makes one 2-quart pot pie
Ingredients:
For a quick stock:
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
Bay leaf
4 parsley stems
5 whole black peppercorns
Scraps from cutting onions, celery and carrots (minus the carrot peels)
For the pie:
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast
6 tablespoons butter (divided)
1 medium onion, diced
Kosher salt
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out the dough
3 cups stock (from above)
1/3 cup sour cream
2 medium carrots, diced
2 large celery ribs, diced
1 medium Russet potato, diced
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more as needed
1 cup frozen English peas
1/4 cup roughly chopped parsley
1 (14-ounce) store-bought frozen puff pastry or pie dough, thawed (or homemade pie dough (recipe below))
1 egg, beaten
Steps:
1. Heat the oven to 400°F.
2. Make a quick stock: Place the chicken broth, bay leaf, parsley stems, and black peppercorns in a medium pot and bring to a boil. (As you work to cut the onion, carrots, and celery, add their scraps (minus the carrot peals) to the pot.)
3. Once boiling lower the heat to a simmer. Slip the chicken breasts into the stock and cook gently over medium-low heat until no longer pink inside, about 15 minutes. Transfer chicken to a cutting board to cool slightly. Tear it apart with two forks, then roughly chop the pieces with a chef knife. Set aside.
4. Strain the stock through a fine sieve. Set aside 3 cups of the stock.
5. Meanwhile prepare the pie: heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add 4 tablespoons of the butter. When the butter bubbles, add the onions and a big pinch of salt, and cook, stirring, until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
6. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, and once melted, add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour smells like popcorn popping, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the reserved 3 cups stock. Then stir in the sour cream. Add the carrots, celery, and potato to the skillet, season with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt (if you used low-sodium broth) and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper, and let simmer over low heat, stirring often, for about 10 minutes. Add the chicken, peas, and parsley and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper until it “sings”.
7. Pour mixture into an 8-inch square or 2-quart baking dish. Set dish in the freezer, while you prepare the crust.
8. Roll the dough between two pieces of plastic wrap to a thickness of 1/8 inch and into whatever shape dish you are using (but an inch larger all around than the size of your dish, if possible). Use extra flour as needed to prevent sticking. Working quickly, place the dough on top of the vegetables and seal to the edge of the pan. Brush with beaten egg. Set on a large baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes for a puff pastry and 40 minutes for a regular pastry dough. Recipes by Jill Santopietro.
Pie Dough (Optional)
Makes one large pie pastry top or 1 large galette dough
Ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, chopped to the size of a large blueberry (1/2 inch), and kept chilled
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1/3 cup ice water
Steps:
1. Place your chopped butter in a small bowl in the freezer.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Using your fingertips or a pie dough blender, quickly work half of the chilled butter into the flour until it becomes the texture of coarse oatmeal. (Keep the remaining butter chilled while you work.) Work in the rest of the butter until the biggest pieces are the size of blueberries.
3. In stages, drizzle in SOME (not all) of the ice water and toss. Stop adding water when the dough comes together, feels damp, and there are still a few bits of dry flour at the bottom of the bowl. (Sometimes this means leaving up to 1 tablespoon behind, but sometimes you need all the water - it depends on the humidity or altitude.) The dough should be ropy and rough. Gather the dough together. Do NOT play with it too much. The faster you work to keep the butter cold, and the less you touch the dough once the water has been added, the more likely that your final dough will be flaky and crispy - exactly how you want it. Flatten the dough ball into a disc, pressing down slightly, and wrap well in plastic. Set in the freezer for 15 minutes or so. (Ideal is to make the dough the day before and let it sit in the refrigerator.)
4. Remove the dough ball from the freezer. Place a long piece of plastic wrap (roughly 16 inches) down on a counter top. Place the disc of dough on it. Flatten the disc slightly. Place another 16-inch piece of plastic wrap over the dough. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough between the plastic wrap to 1/8-inch-thick. Pull the top most plastic wrap from the dough between rolls, place it back over the dough, and flip the dough over from time to time to keep the rolled out dough smooth. Once it’s about 1/8 inch thick throughout and smooth, STOP! You don’t want to overwork the dough. Place it on a small baking sheet and set it in the freezer until ready to use. (The dough freezes well wrapped in plastic.) Recipe adapted from Jacque Pepin.