Chicken Pot Pie

• servings: 4 servings
• total time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

4-5 boneless chicken thighs

3 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade

1 chicken bouillon cube

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup yellow onions, chopped

¼ cup heavy cream

1 cup carrots (~2 medium carrots), medium-diced

1 cup celery (~2 celery stalks), medium-diced

½ bulb of fennel, chopped

1 cup frozen peas

1 large potato, peeled and diced

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

Pastry (try? 1 package frozen puff pastry, Pepperidge Farm, thawed)

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

8 tbsp cold fresh lard, diced (¼ lb)

8 tbsp cold unsalted butter, diced

½ to 2/3 cup ice water

1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp. water

Flaked sea salt

Cracked black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the chicken thighs on a baking sheet and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Cut the chicken into large dice. You should have about 3 cups of cubed chicken.

For the crust, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the lard and butter and pulse about 10 times, until the fat is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water; process only enough to moisten the dough and have it just come together. Dump the dough out on a floured surface and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow it to rest for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cube in the stock.

In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt 2 tbsp butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 8-10 minutes, until translucent. Add 1/3 cup flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, and the heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, celery, peas, potatoes, fennel, and parsley. Mix well.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Divide the filling equally among 4 ovenproof bowls. Divide the dough into quarters and roll each piece into an 8-inch circle. Brush the outside edges of each bowl with the egg wash, then place the dough on top. Trim the circle to ½-inch larger than the top of the bowl. Crimp the dough to fold over the side, pressing it to make it stick. Brush the dough with egg wash and make 3 slits in the top. Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.

Notes

I parboiled the chicken in stock for 10 minutes, I was afraid it would get dried out with that much cook time. It came out very juicy. Would like to try slow cooking the veg to bring out the juices so the gravy doesn’t get watered down.

Nutrition

• Calories: 747
• Total Fat: 45 g
• Saturated Fat: 18 g
• Cholesterol: 163 mg
• Sodium: 678 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 42 g
• Dietary Fiber: 4 g
• Total Sugars: 6 g
• Protein: 35 g