CHICKEN POT PIE

This is a long recipe and I really didn’t intend to post it.  BUT it turned out so much better than I expected.  It looked like one of those big English Pub pies and the LEFT-OVERS are amazing.  Also, I made a LOT of changes in the crust, and it was sooo good, so I knew I’d be wanting to look back at what I did.    

CHICKEN POT PIE:  based on Chatelaine Magazine, Feb. 2012

STEP ONE:  Bake a sweet potato for one hour and 15 minutes at 400 degrees.  Peel and mash the potato.  Set aside to use in the crust.

STEP TWO:  FILLING

4 cups cooked chicken

1 tbsp vegetable oil

12 ounces fresh mushrooms

1 ½ lbs turnips

12 ounces carrots

1 cup frozen peas

¼ cup butter

8 ounces onion

3 garlic cloves

¼ tsp pepper

2 tsp kosher salt

¼ cup flour

4 cups milk

4 tsp chipotle pepper in adobo (2 of the peppers)

½ cup parsley

1.     Quarter mushrooms & set aside on a plate.

2.     Peel and dice turnips.   Set aside on a plate.

3.     Peel and julienne carrots.  Add to the turnips.

4.     Finely chop onion and set aside on a plate.

5.     Finely chop garlic and set aside on a separate plate.

6.     Finely chop the adobe peppers and set aside on another plate.

7.     Chop parsley coarsely and set aside on another plate.

8.     Chop or shred the chicken and set aside in a large bowl.

9.     Over medium-high heat, cook mushrooms in oil in large frying pan for 5 minutes.

10.        Lower heat a bit, add turnips & carrots, and cook 5 more minutes.

11.        Add peas.  Turn mixture into the large bowl holding the chicken.

12.        Cook onion for 3 minutes in the butter over medium-high heat in the large frying pan.

13.      Add salt, black pepper, and adobe peppers.

14.      Add garlic and cook one minute.

15.    Lower heat.  Stir in ¼ cup flour.  Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

16.     Using a whisk, stir in one cup milk.  When mixture is smooth, whisk in the rest of the milk. 

17.    Cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes, until somewhat thickened.

18.    Stir in parsley.

19.    Mix sauce into the vegetables & chicken. 

STEP 3:  CRUST:  a biscuit dough

1.      Put 3 ¾ flour in food processor.

2.     Add 1 ½ tsp kosher salt.

3.     Add ½ tsp pepper.

4.     Give it a whirl.

5.     Add 1 cup softened butter.

6.     Process until all the butter is finely blended with the flour.

7.     Turn flour mixture into a large bowl.

8.     Beat 3 eggs in another bowl.

9.     Add 1 cup mashed sweet potato to the eggs.

10.        Add ½ cup milk to the eggs.

11.       Beat eggs, milk, and sweet potato together.

12.       Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

13.        With a wooden spoon, gently stir egg mixture into the flour.

14.        With floured hands, gently pat 2/3 of the dough into the bottom and up the sides of a 9x13 pan. . . about ¼ inch thick.

15.         Fill the pan with chicken mixture.  (There probably will be more than you need.  Refrigerate the rest to use in an omelet.)

16.        Lightly roll out the remaining dough.  Make sure it’s big enough to cover the pan. 

17.        I cut the rolled out dough in half to be able to move it onto the pan. 

18.        Seal the edges by pressing the dough there together.

19.        Cut x’s into the lid in several places to let steam escape.

20.        Bake until bubbly:  about 30 minutes.

21.      Serve with salad.  (I made 2 salads:  one was a beet salad; the other a simple lettuce salad.)

·        This can be prepared early in the day.  I reheated it for 30 minutes at 400 degrees without drying it out or burning it.