Chicken Pot Pie

Returning to the kitchen after a weekend filled with feasting is always a bit of a challenge. After baking pies, mashing potatoes and basting for hours, all I want to do is fall into a tryptophane-induced coma and binge watch Netflix until Halloween. Then I remember that I have two children and a husband, all of whom will be looking expectantly at me come dinnertime. And I suppose I could come up with some fresh, fast meals involving- well lettuce for one thing. Instead I shall continue perpetuating the comfort food pleasures of fall.

This week- Chicken pot pie. Which incidentally works well with leftover turkey, should you be blessed to have lots of leftovers.  This recipe is a bit of work.  It starts with a whole chicken that you cook with the vegetables and it flavours the whole broth.  It requires homemade pastry that you roll out to fit over a large casserole dish that feeds a crowd.  But you can also take some easy shortcuts that turn this into a much quicker meal. You can use pre-cooked or rotisserie chicken and just shred and add it to the broth at the end. You can also use frozen puffed pastry sheets for the crust. Either way- it will be warm, filling, and comforting. Everything a cool, Autumn evening demands!

Chicken Pot Pie
Samin Nosrat, Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat

1 recipe all-butter pie dough
1 whole chicken or 3 lbs bone-in chicken thighs
olive oil
3 Tbsp butter
2 medium onions, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
2 large carrots, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
2 large celery stalks, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 pound fresh cremini, button, or chanterelle mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme
fresh ground black pepper
salt
3/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup cream
3 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup flour
1 cup peas, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley leaves

Make the pie dough and refrigerate in one large piece.

Quarter a whole chicken if using and season generously with salt (alternatively, salt the chicken thighs). Brown the chicken pieces in a few Tbsp of olive oil, 4 minutes a side, in batches if necessary so that they brown evenly.

Set a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the butter. Add the onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms, bay leaves and thyme. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to take on colour and soften, about 12 minutes. Pour in the wine and deglaze the pan with a wooden spoon.

Nestle the browned chicken into the vegetables. Add the cream and chicken stock and increase the heat to high. Cover the pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Remove the breasts, if using, after 10 minutes of simmering, but cook dark meat for a total of 30 minutes. Turn of the heat, then transfer the cooked chicken to a plate and allow the sauce to cool. Discard the bay leaves and thyme. After the sauce sits for a few minutes, use a ladle or wide spoon to skim the fat.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

In a separate small bowl, use a fork to combine 1/2 cup of the skimmed fat with the flour into a thick paste. When all the flour has been absorbed, stir in a ladleful of cooking liquid and combine. Return this thick liquid to the pot and bring the entire sauce back to a boil then reduce and simmer and cook until the sauce no longer tastes of raw flour, about 4 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then remove from heat. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred the meat and chop the skin finely. Discard the bones. Add the shredded chicken, skin, peas, and parsley to the pot. Stir to combine, taste, and adjust the seasoning as needed.

Roll the pie dough out into a 15 x 11-inch rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick.  Pour the filling into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.  Lay the prepared dough and trim the dough to leave a 1/2 inch border around the lip of the pan.  Tuck the dough back under itself and seal.  Brush the dough generously with egg wash.

Place on a baking sheet and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the dough is golden brown and the filling is bubbly.

Note: You can use a rotisserie chicken (or turkey!).  Add 5 cups of shredded chicken to the mixture and use butter to make the flour paste.