chicken pot pie for girls who love pot pie

Adapted from Alison Roman’s “A Pretty Classic Pot Pie.”

Ready in 90 minutes

Serves 4-6 people

Ingredients

• 2 pounds chicken breasts or thighs (see how to’s)
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion
• 6 garlic cloves
• 4 celery stalks
• 4-5 sprigs thyme
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup white wine
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth or stock
• ½ cup frozen peas
• ¼ bunch parsley
• ½ bunch chives
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry or pie crust, thawed per package instructions
• 1 egg

Directions

Click on each bullet point to expand more detailed instructions.

For this recipe, we recommend mise en place*: Thinly slice onion, garlic, and celery. Coarsely chop thyme leaves. Finely chop parsley and chives. Place in bowls.

1. *Mise en place or “everything in its place.” This means we will prepare all of our ingredients ahead of time so that we can easily add them in the correct order without having to stop for chopping. It’s suuuuuper annoying at first, but absolutely pays off later.
2. Cut onion in half through the root and peel. Thinly slice into half-moons. Place in small bowl or ramekin.
3. Lightly smash garlic cloves and peel. Thinly slice. Add to onion bowl.
4. Thinly slice celery stalks. Place in a small bowl or ramekin.
5. Slide pinched fingers down the sprigs of thyme to strip their leaves off. Pick off any especially clingy leaves. Coarsely chop thyme leaves and add to celery bowl.
6. Finely chop parsley leaves and tender stems. Finely chop chives. Add both to a single small bowl or ramekin.

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken well and sear in a heavy-bottomed, oven-safe skillet to render out fat on both sides (approx 5-8 min on first side and 9-10 on second). Transfer chicken pieces to a plate or cutting board, leaving drippings in pan.

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees with a rack on the middle or middle-lower shelf.
2. Place a cast-iron, stainless steel, or other oven-safe, heavy-bottomed skillet on stove over medium heat to begin preheating.
3. Place all of your chicken pieces on a cutting board (either well-oiled wood or plastic – we want to be able to sanitize!) and pat dry with a paper towel on both sides.
4. Use a 3-finger pinch of salt to evenly salt the chicken on both sides. Grind pepper over both sides as well.
5. Lay chicken pieces in skillet, skin side down if there is one.. The chicken should start to sizzle as soon as it hits the skillet. If the first piece does not sizzle on contact, wait another minute or two for the skillet to heat.
6. Sear chicken until the skin is golden browned and crisped and the fat has mostly rendered out, approximately 5-8 minutes.
7. Using tongs, flip each chicken piece. If any of the pieces do not release easily, let them continue searing for another minute or two. Cook the second side until equally browned, another 8-10 minutes.
8. Remove chicken from pan and place on a plate or cutting board. Leave the drippings and browned bits behind in the skillet.

In the same skillet, cook onion and garlic seasoned with salt and pepper until softened and slightly caramelized (3-5 min). Add celery and thyme, season again, and cook until celery is bright green and tender (5-8 min). Add wine and cook while stirring until evaporated (~1 min).

1. To the same skillet, add sliced onion and garlic. Season with a large pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper, then cook until onions are mostly soft and beginning to caramelize (about 3-5 minutes).
2. Add celery and thyme to skillet. Season again with salt and pepper. Cook until celery is bright green and tender (about 5-8 minutes).
3. Add wine to the skillet. While stirring constantly, cook until wine has mostly evaporated (about 1 minute).

Add flour to vegetables and stir to coat. Stirring constantly, toast flour until golden brown (3-4 min).

1. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables, then stir to coat the vegetables evenly with the flour.
2. Continuing to stir, cook until the flour is starting to toast and looks evenly golden brown. If you see white pockets of flour left, keep stirring and toasting.

Add in broth/stock about ½ cup at a time and stir, scraping bottom of pan, until incorporated before adding more. Finish adding broth, stir to combine, bring to simmer, and remove from heat.

1. Pour in half a cup of the broth or stock. Scrape up the browned fond at the bottom of the skillet, and gently stir to incorporate broth or stock.
2. Continue adding broth in ½ cup increments, stirring to combine after each addition.
3. Once all broth has been incorporated (it’s okay if there’s lumps!), give one final stir. Bring to a simmer, then remove from heat.
4. Turn off the stove.

Shred chicken. Add chicken, peas, and herbs to skillet, and stir to combine. Taste and season once again with salt and pepper. Cover with puff pastry, then brush with egg wash (egg + 1 tsp water). Cut three vents, then bake for 30-40 min. Serve!

1. Turn your attention to the reserved chicken. Carefully remove and dispose of bones. Shred remaining meat and skin using your fingers or two forks, until chicken is in relatively even, bite-sized shreds.
2. Add chicken shreds, peas, parsley, and chives to the skillet. Stir until combined.
3. Taste the mixture and add any needed salt and pepper one last time.
4. Gently open and flatten puff pastry or pie crust. Pinch together any gaps if it feels needed. Place puff pastry on top of skillet, approximately covering the skillet.
   1. It’s okay if it doesn’t completely cover, or if it hangs over the sides a bit. For the latter, cover a sheet pan with parchment paper and place the skillet on top of the sheet pan before putting in the oven. This will help catch any drips.
5. Crack the egg into a small bowl and whisk with 1 teaspoon of water. Brush the egg wash over the top of the puff pastry.
6. Cut three slits to act as vents for your pot pie. The vents should be about 2.5 inches, and about 1-2 inches apart.
7. Bake until top of pot pie is deliciously browned and filling is cooked through, about 30-40 minutes, rotating halfway.
8. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes before serving.

How To’s

1. How to make this faster:
   • Though the original recipe calls for bone-in, skin-on breasts or thighs to maximize opportunities for building flavor, using boneless, skinless breasts or thighs instead still works great and is a little more straightforward. Follow the same cooking instructions for searing chicken, but add 1-2 tablespoons olive oil to skillet after removing chicken (since you won’t be rendering fat).
   • Buy a rotisserie chicken instead of cooking your own. Pick and shred meat, then add to skillet with peas and herbs.
2. How to make this clean up easier:
   • Keep single-use rubber gloves in your kitchen. To shred chicken, put on gloves and shred with fingers. This way, you won’t need to use forks but can still avoid having to get your hands dirty.

love you stay fed!