Chicken Pot Pie….a classic. I love it, its such a treat. I wouldn’t file it under “quick and easy weeknight meals,” It takes love as the secret ingredient, and a little extra time and care, but geez is it worth it. And though it takes a bit to get put together, this recipe makes 2 pot pies, so your efforts should last a meal or two, depending on how many you are feeding. I added veggie to the title because chicken is not the star here. You’ll find your standard carrot, celery, and onion, but also butternut squash, potato and corn; that should make up for all the butter right? I always serve it with a big green salad with a light vinaigrette to balance the richness too.
I make this is casserole dishes, it makes 2 of the medium size and I freeze one (don’t bake it, pie crust raw, then thaw a day or two in the fridge and bake the full hour). It seems lately the trend is to put them in individual ramekins, each person getting their own. They look nice yes, but I think it throws off the proportions of topping to filling (too much crust); so I like the casserole pans. I only put a crust on the top, not the bottom…it’s rich enough as it is. This method gives your plate a nice hearty amount of the filling with a light crusty piece of the topping; so you don’t feel like you need a nap after dinner.
Recipe: Chicken and Veggie Pot Pie
Ingredients
- 1 c cooked chicken (leftover or rotisserie chicken works well)
- 2 Yukon gold potatoes
- 1/2 butternut squash
- oil, salt and pepper for oven roasting
- 1/3 stick butter
- 1 onion diced
- 3 carrots diced
- 3 ribs celery diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- salt and pepper
- 4 T flour
- 1 1/2 c chicken stock
- 3 c milk (I used whole but any will work)
- 1/2 c frozen corn (peas would be good too)
- salt and pepper
- pinch nutmeg
- 1/2 c Parmesan cheese grated
- For the crust (makes 2)
- 1 1/4 c flour
- 1/4 t salt
- 1 stick cold butter diced
- 1/4 c cold water
- 1 egg (for an egg wash)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375. In the oven bake the chicken (olive oil, salt pepper), potatoes (just add whole), and squash (cut in half and remove seeds, drizzle with oil or butter)
- While these are baking, make the rest of the filling on the stove top, and then add the oven roasted ingredients last.
- In a large pot on the stove top, melt 1/3 stick butter and saute onion, carrots, celery (season with salt and pepper) until tender, then add garlic.
- Add flour and whisk in, this will form a roux with the butter you started with, and will be the thickening agent for the sauce.
- Let the flour and veggies cook a few minutes, then add your stock and milk. Whisk and stir your mix, as the liquid heats it will thicken your sauce.
- When sauce has thickened, check your oven roasted veggies. They should be tender (or almost tender…they will finish cooking in the sauce and then in the oven later) dice them and add them to the stove pot.
- Add chicken, corn, nutmeg and taste to see if you need more salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Add Parmesan, then transfer filling into casserole pans, it will fill about 2 medium pans but you can put it in any sizes or shapes you want.
- The pans can sit while you make the pie dough (this can also be made ahead at which point the pans could go into the refrigerator).
- In a large bowl combine flour and salt, then work in butter with a pastry cutter and add water a little at a time until it comes together to form a pie dough. Work quickly to keep dough cold, cut into 2 equal portions and roll out on a floured surface.
- Top casserole pans with the crust, crimping the edges, and cut a few slits in the top to vent.
- Whisk one egg with a dash of water and brush onto the crusts. At this point the pies can be baked to eat, stored in the fridge for a day or 2, or covered and frozen. If freezing, thaw in fridge a day or two before baking.
- Bake uncovered at 375 for 45-60 minutes, top should be crusty and filling hot and bubbly. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.
Preparation time: 1 hour(s)
Cooking time: 2 hour(s)
Number of servings (yield): 6
Microformatting by hRecipe.
