This is a delicious dish, especially perfect for a cold winter day. My husband Ben is not huge on creamy dishes, but he loved this. The chunky moist chicken and soft vegetables smothered in the creamy (but not heavy!) stew is just great. Rolling out the pastry is slightly messy, but overall this is not complicated to make, and the feeling of cracking into your own individual pot pie is so satisfying!
Chicken Pot Pie
Servings 4 individual pot pies
Ingredients
Baked Chicken
- 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts 7 pieces
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Stew
- 5 cups chicken stock
- 2 cubes chicken bouillon
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 1/2 sticks
- 2 large yellow onions chopped
- 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 pound carrots medium diced
- 15 ounces sweet peas canned is fine
- 1/2 cup fresh italian parsley leaves chopped
Pastry
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
- 1/4 pound unsalted butter 1 stick, diced
- 1/2 cup ice water
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
Instructions
Bake the Chicken
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Rinse the chicken breasts with cold water and pat them dry with paper towels.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil. Place the chicken breasts on the baking sheet and rub them with olive oil on both sides. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides. Roast until cooked through, about 35 minutes in a convection oven. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then cut the chicken into large chunks.
Make the Stew
- In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock.
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat and stir for another minute, until the sauce becomes thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and the heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, onions and parsley and mix well.
Prepare the Pastry Dough
- Mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the shortening and butter and mix quickly with your fingers until each piece is coated with flour. Pulse about 10 times, until the shortening and butter become the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water and process only enough to moisten the dough and have it just come together. Take the dough out onto a floured workspace and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and put it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Assemble and Bake the Pot Pie
- 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 1/2-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 small slits in the top. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.