Chicken Pot Pie
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse
Turkey or beef could also be used in this recipe in place of the chicken. Use beef broth for a beef pot pie.
Instead of using pie pastry, as in the recipe below, you could use puff pastry for a top crust (so no bottom crust). Also see Chicken Pot Pie w/ Biscuits - instead of pastry, biscuits are baked on top.
FMM: This tasted good and was filling, but I thought there was way too much crust per filling. I like crust and enjoyed it, but not everyone would like this much crust. I used Betty Crocker's pastry crust and made 1 1/2 recipes of the 9" Two-Crust Pie for the 9 by 9 by 2-inch square baking pan. 1 1/2 recipes uses 3 cups of flour (Emeral’s recipe uses 3 1/4). I used all the pastry by folding the extra top crust under the bottom crust at the top of the pie, per the recipe, which is where the pastry was the thickest. To use all of the pastry, I would try making this again using Betty's recipe but modify the recipe to use only 2 1/2 cups of flour and roll the pastry thinner so the crust at the top edges is not so thick. I did add just a touch of dried thyme and a bouillon cube to the filling to add more flavor. I also thought there were too many potatoes in the filling; it made the filling too starchy.
6 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
6 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup half and half
2 cups diced potatoes, peeled and diced Idaho potatoes, cooked in boiling salted water until tender, 6 to 8 minutes [use fewer potatoes]
1 cup diced carrots, cooked in boiling salted water until tender, 4 to 5 minutes
1 cup sweet peas, fresh or frozen (defrost if frozen)
2 cups cubed chicken, cooked (see recipe for stewed chicken)
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 recipe Basic Savory Crust (recipe follows or use Betty Crocker's and make 1 1/2 recipes of the 9" Two-Crust Pie due to the larger pan size)
Salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 9 by 2-inch square baking pan.
In a large saute pan, melt the butter. Add the onions and celery and saute for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the flour and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes for a blond roux.
Stir in the chicken stock and bring the liquid up to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and continue to cook for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the sauce starts to thicken. Stir in the half and half and continue to cook for 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. The filling should flow, but not be soupy. When I made this before, I thickened the sauce to what I think it should be once done, but it thickened while cooking and it was a tad too thick.
Stir in the potatoes, carrots, peas and chicken. Mix the filling thoroughly.
Line the baking pan with one of the crusts. [Brush the bottom and sides of the crust with bacon grease, butter, or egg white to keep the crust from getting soggy.] Pour the filling into the prepared pan. Place the top crust on top of the filling. Carefully tuck the overlapping crust into the pan, forming a thick edge. Crimp the edges of the pan [cut several vent holes and] place on a baking sheet.
Place the sheet in the oven [on a lower shelf so the bottom crust cooks and does not become soggy] and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes [mine took much longer than this] or until the crust is golden brown and crispy [and the filling is bubbly].
Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before serving.
6 servings
Basic Savory Pie Crust
3 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups cold lard or solid vegetable shortening
4 to 5 tablespoons ice water
- Combine the flour and salt in a bowl. Add the lard and work it in with your hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, working it in with your hands. Add only as much as you need to make a smooth ball of dough.
- Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it on a lightly floured surface.
- For 2 crusts, cut the dough in two and put the second half back in the refrigerator. For each crust, roll the dough out on the floured surface into a square about 14 inches in diameter and 1/8-inch thick. Gently fold the square of dough in half and then in half again so that you can lift it without tearing it, and unfold into a square baking pan. Fill and proceed as directed in the recipe.
Yield: 2 pie crusts
