Chicken Pot Pie is comfort food. If you want to have fun with this, you’ll go the whole nine yards and follow the recipe for the real thing. It’s fun if you have the time and you plan ahead. Or, you can buy a frozen chicken pot pie and make a salad.
Ingredients
Chicken for Pie
- 3 whole chicken legs thighs and drum sticks
- 1 whole onion coarsely chopped
- 2 whole carrots peeled and chopped
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 4-5 sprigs fresh tarragon or 1 tablespoon dried
- 4-5 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 tablespoon dried
- 1 tsp whole pepper corns
- 1 tbsp chicken bullion concentrate
- 1 tbsp tomato pure
- 4-5 cups water
Optional
- 1 bag dried chanterelle mushrooms soaked in warm water for an hour
- 1 cup dry white wine
Pie Filling
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup carrots peeled and diced
Optional Filling Ingredients
- 1 cup button tiny mushrooms or if larger, quartered
- 1 cup mini white potatoes sliced
- 1 cup red pearl onions peeled
Pie Shell
- 1 double deep pie shell (2 shells)
Egg Wash
- 1 whole egg mixed with 1 tablespoonful of water and mixed with a fork
Instructions
Chicken and broth
- Gather ingredients for the chicken and stock
- Peel and chop onion carrots and celery and add to a deep soup pot. Top with tarragon, thyme, bay leaf, rosemary and finally the chicken pieces
- Add enough water to cover the chicken and vegetables by about 1-2 inches, then add the tomato paste and the white wine and broth from chanterelle
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the chicken legs are tender, 20-25 minutes
- Remove chicken to a cookie sheet
- Reserve stock
- Strain stock into a deep bowl, discard vegetables
- When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove skin and bones and discard and shred the chicken and set aside in a bowl
Pie Filling
- Gather and prepare ingredients for the filling
- Peel and chop carrots, rinse under cold water, cover with cling wrap and microwave for 2 minutes, uncover, drain and set aside
- Rinse red pearl onions and cover with cling wrap and microwave for 2 minutes, uncover, drain and set aside
- Prepare mushrooms and pour 1 cup of frozen peas into a separate bowl and set aside.
- Using the soup pot over medium high heat, melt 3 tablespoons of butter and add 3 tablespoons of flour and stir until the flour mixture turns a light brown.
- Add warm chicken stock one ladleful at a time and stir with a wire whisk until 1-2 cups of the stock has been incorporated and you have a smooth sauce,
- If the sauce seems a little thick, add more stock and continue to stir until it thickens again; you should have about 2 cups of sauce.
- Now, add the reserved shredded chicken, carrots, mushrooms, onions and potatoes and bring all to a simmer.
- Finally add the peas, check for seasoning and add salt and/or black pepper as needed.
Prepare Pie
- Pre heat oven to 400°
- Separate the two pie shells and fill one shell with the pie filling.
- Cover the filled pie with the send shell, inverted over the pie filling and cut a hole in the center of the pie, pinch the edges of the pie to seal the two crusts and to make a decorative finish.
- Using a brush, the brush the egg wash over the entire pie, including the edges
- Bake pie in a pre heated 400° oven for about 45 minutes or until the crust is a golden brown.
Author Notes
Some might argue that chicken pot pie should be easy, maybe even so easy that you can buy it and heat and serve.
A middle ground would be to use a rotisserie chicken, frozen vegetables, chicken stock and pre-sliced mushrooms.
Then there is the way that I have described it my recipe. Granted, the recipe is long and does take a fair amount of time, but then it's a great way the spend a Sunday afternoon if you have nothing else on the go. I find cooking is great therapy and a total disconnect.
