Chicken Pot Pie

I haven't had chicken pot pie in quite some time. I was really craving something comforting and warm, and decided to try a chicken pot pie recipe. This recipe was a little time consuming but it's well worth it. One of the best pot pies I've had. We used our new corningware from Aunt Pat to make this. How delightful!

Chicken Pot Pie

Crust:
3 cups all purpose flour plus more for dusting and rolling
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter cut into pieces
1/4 cup vegetable shortening

Chicken:
2 cups peeled, coarsely chopped carrots
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 leek, coarsely chopped
1 3lb whole chicken
4 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
6 sprigs thyme
1 cup dry white wine
1 tblsp kosher salt
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1 tblsp tomato paste

Filling:
2 tblsp dried chanterelle or shiitake mushrooms
1 cup 1/2" slices peeled carrots
1 cup fresh or frozen thawed peas
1 cup purple pearl onions
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup all purpose flour
6 fresh sage leaves
4 thyme sprigs
2 sprigs rosemary
1 cup button mushrooms
1 cup 1/4" round fingerling potatoes
1 egg, beaten to blend

Preperation
For crust
Mix flour, salt and baking powder in a food processor. Add chilled, cubed butter and shortening and process until mixture resembles coarse meal with some pea size lumps. With the machine running add 1/2 cup ice water and process, adding more water if dough seems dry, until dough forms. Form dough into a ball and flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.

 

My new food processor! I love it :)

Line a baking sheet with parchment, place chilled dough on a lightly floured work surface and roll dough out to a 12x9" rectangle, about 1/4" thick. Place on the prepared sheet and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Chill. This can be made 6 hours ahead. Keep chilled.

For Chicken
Preheat oven to 400. Place carrots, leek, and onion on a rimmed baking sheet and roast until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a large pot or dutch oven fitted with a lid. Add chicken, breast side down, celery, thyme sprigs, wine, salt, and peppercorns to the pot. Add 8 cups of water or more to cover chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat, cover and poach chicken until cooked through, about 35 minutes.

Remove chicken from pot and set aside to cool. Reserve broth. Shred meat and discard the skin and bones. Set a large strainer over another pot. Strain broth into the clean pot. Stir in tomato paste. Return to medium heat and simmer, uncovered, until reduced to 5 cups, about 40 minutes. Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill uncovered until cool. Cover broth and chicken separately, keep chilled, rewarm before continuing.

For filling
Place dried chanterelles in a small bowl and cover with 1 cup of hot water. Let steep for 10 minutes and set aside. Reserve soaking liquid. Cook carrots in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer carrots to a medium bowl. Add peas to saucepan, cook for 1 minute, transfer to bowl with carrots. Add onions to saucepan and saute, transfer to bowl with carrots.

In a large heavy saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Cook over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Whisk in herbs and warm chicken broth. Using slotted spoon, transfer chanterelle mushrooms, and potatoes. Bring to a simmer. Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill uncovered until cool. Cover and keep chilled. Rewarm before continuing.

Preheat oven to 400. Spoon filling into desired container. This recipe feeds 6 people so I used smaller dishes and reserved the rest for next time! Top dish with pastry, pinching edges to seal. If not using a pie bird cut a small x into the top of pastry for steam to vent. Brush pastry with beaten egg, and sprinkle with sea salt and pepper if desired. Place pot pie on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Enjoy!