etherfarm

Chicken Pot Pie

Later

By Poog • 14:25 on Friday, October 11, 2002 • Comment

Earlier

I made this by rummaging through the fridge for ingredients, approximating from two cookbooks, messing it up once (in this really embarrassing way that only I could do, so don’t worry - ‘tis foolproof for others), and trying, trying again. Takes about an hour to an hour and a half and is delicious.

There are three parts to this recipe. First, heat the oven to 375°F.

The Pie Crust

• 2 C flour
• 1 stick butter
• 4-5 T vegetable shortening (1/4-1/3 C)
• 3/4 t salt (less if you use salted butter.)
• ice water

The Filling

• 3-4 chicken thighs
• olive oil
• 1 onion
• garlic
• thyme
• vegetables

The Gravy

• 2 cubes Knorr chicken boullion
• Bay leaf
• peppercorns
• 2-3 T flour
• 2 C water

The Pie Crust

1. Use a pastry cutter to cut in the butter and shortening until pieces are the size of small peas and the flour adheres lightly to the cutter, but brushes off easily.
2. Add ice water, a spoonful at a time, to the dry mix and fluff with a fork until the whole thing starts to stick together, but stop before it gets wet or damp to the touch. Form into a ball.
3. Rollout and line the bottom and sides of a springform pan with half/two-thirds of the crust. If you can figure out how to get the sides to stand up while it bakes, you are several steps ahead of me - I just baked it and then burnt my fingers holding up the limp sides while I filled them with pie filling. It also said to weight it down with beans, but this caused a minor crisis so I skipped it and it turned out fine. Bake the crust at 375 for about 10-15 minutes- until it starts to turn golden, but not brown.

The Filling

1. The filling is more free-form than a real recipe. I sauteed a chopped yellow onion and some garlic (~4 cloves) in olive oil until translucent, put it aside, sauteed 2 roma tomatoes, chopped, a portabello mushroom, chopped, and some red & yellow peppers, and put it all in with the onion - added some frozen peas, fresh or dried thyme, and half a can of corn. Potatoes and sliced eggs were in the recipe, but I didn’t have any, and there were no complaints. I believe carrot is also a traditional ingredient, or celery. Use what you have that sounds good - cauliflower, perhaps, or zucchini or other squash.
2. The chicken was what took the time. I used 3-4 chicken thighs, defrosted them, heated them in the frying pan until they were warm through (but not cooked through) and then removed skin, gristle, and bones and chopped the meat into bite-size pieces, which I added to the veg.
3. All this mixture went into the crust as soon as it came out of the oven. Although the pie “walls” had fallen down, I was able to tuck filling under them and shore them up internally.

The Gravy

1. The chicken will have yielded oil and juices. Save these and add a bay leaf, a palmful of peppercorns, and 1.5 cubes Knorr chicken boullion (if you substitute another kind, keep in mind that Knorr cubes make twice as much broth as other brands.) Add 2 cups of water.
2. This whole mixture should simmer for a while - 10 minutes or so. Strain out the bay leaf and peppercorns and let it sit for a few.
3. Then whisk in about 2-3 T flour - I find shaking it out of a tea ball keeps it from clumping while you whisk. Simmer a bit more, whisking still, and then dump on top of filling, coating evenly. I suppose you could also put this in the mix and stir it in, if your crust is still in the oven.

THE FINAL PRODUCT

1. Roll out that final 1/3 of the pie crust into an approximate circle. Lay it on top of your pie and seal as well as you can. The recipe said to “crimp edges attractively”, but they were using a normal pie pan (I don’t because you can cram more stuff into a springform) and it is easier to say than do. Who cares how attractive it is, if it tastes as good as this does? Prick the top to release steam.
2. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until crust is golden-brown on top.
3. Let it sit for as long as you can stand it (at least 10 min) before cutting into it.
4. Eat. Serves 5, if you use lots of veg and some have seconds. Good with a brown or amber ale.