Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken pot-pie is a classic winter dish, but I decided to make a recipe with stewed chicken thighs in a Dutch oven that shreds after cooking, which I feel gives more concentration of flavor. And, tip: if you add a dash of poultry seasoning to it, it tastes like thanksgiving pot pie!

Chicken Pot Pie

serves 4-6

270 g fresh puff pastry dough

s&p

1 egg

Stewed Chicken

150 g carrots 1/4 inch thick (about a half of a cm)

150 g celery 1/4 inch thick (about a half of a cm)

170 g onions 1/4 inch thick (about a half of a cm)

15 g sliced garlic

1 1/2 T butter

1 1/2 T olive oil

about 1/8 t freshly grated nutmeg

2 t dried thyme

170 ml heavy cream

2 bay leaves

s&p

4 boneless, skinless, chicken thighs

Filling

250 g carrots 1/4 inch thick (about a half of a cm)

250 g celery 1/4 inch thick (about a half of a cm)

200 g leeks 1/4 inch thick (about a half of a cm)

200 g frozen peas

1 t dried thyme

2 T extra virgin olive oil

15 grams fresh chopped parsley

Béchamel Sauce

450 milk

50 g butter

50 g flour

100-125 heavy cream

s&p

First, for the filling, in a Dutch oven on medium-high heat, cook 150 g of the carrots with s&p and oil & butter for a couple of minutes without the lid. Stir well once or twice. Then add the 150 g celery & 170 g onions. Cook for another 10 minutes, stirring regularly every couple of minutes. Now you can add the garlic and 2 t dried thyme. Lower the temp to medium and stir well every minute or two for about 3 minutes. You want to get some nice browning on the veggies after about 15 minutes total cooking time. Add the chicken thighs into the pot, pushing down to make contact with the bottom of the pan and scooping the veg on top. Add the bay leaves and nutmeg. Then pour in the 170 ml heavy cream. Mix once and cover. Cook on a simmer/low for 45 minutes with the lid on. Stir this twice during the 45 minutes.

Turn on the oven to 220 C (430 F)

Remove the bay leaves from the stew, break apart the meat well and transfer it to a bowl, scraping out as much as you can. Add the 2 T olive oil, carrots and s&p to the same Dutch oven, cook for 5 minutes on medium to medium-high heat with the lid on stirring every couple of minutes. Then add the celery and onions and cook for about another 5 minutes, again, stirring every couple of minutes. Add the leeks and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring often. Once the carrots are cooked through, add the stew and the peas to the pot and mix well. Cook with the lid on until it begins to bubble. And now you can make the béchamel sauce.

Warm up your milk in a small pot. In another larger pot, melt the butter and then add the flour. Cook with a whisk for a couple of minutes on medium heat. Then, slowly add the milk and try to whisk out any lumps. Cook together until it bubbles and is thick. Then add s&p and the cream. Once bubbling again, add to the meat mixture with the parsley. Stir well and scoop into 1 large or 2 smaller baking dish(es), leaving about 1 inch from the top. Unroll your dough and cut out the shape you need to cover the baking dish(es) and hang a little bit over the sides. After the shape has been cut and still laying on the cutting board slice three short lines though the dough in the middle of the pastry to act as a chimney while baking in the oven. Beat the egg. Run a pastry brush dipped in the egg around the rim of the baking dish(es) and place the dough on top of the dish with the dough hanging over the sides a bit. Push it down to seal it. Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes, or until it is puffy and golden brown.