Chicken Potpie with Love
I feel like Chicken Potpie is universal comfort food. Every culture has some sort of savory pie stuffed with goodness that warms your belly. These sort of all in one meals date back to ancient times when everything was thrown into one pot on an open fire. Over the years they have been elevated and perfected with many different iterations. This one is a little classic, a little modern, a little country, a little bouji. And a lot delicious! And I made it in the shape of a heart for Valentines Day!!!
Ingredients:
6 cups Chicken Broth
6-10 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
1 Large Onion quartered
1 cup sliced Mushrooms of your choice
2-3 Carrots peeled and chopped
1 cup cooked or frozen Corn
1 cup raw or frozen Peas
1 cup fresh or frozen Green Beans
1 cup Milk, with a little extra for brushing on top of puff pastry before baking
3 tablespoon Butter
½ tablespoon Black Peppercorns
2 Bay Leaves
5 tablespoon Flour
Salt and Pepper to taste, with 1 teaspoon extra for sprinkling on top of puff pastry before baking
2 Sheets Puff Pastry
Instructions:
Pre-heat oven to 375˚.
Press the thawed puff pastry in an oven safe pie dish 9 inches round or bigger. Pinch pastry to cover half way up the sides. Place in oven and par bake for about 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
In a deep stovetop pot bring chicken broth, quartered onion, black peppercorn, and bay leaves to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes.
Add chicken thighs, bring to a boil, then reduce heat again, and cook about 15 minutes. Transfer cooked chicken to a cutting board to cool. Once chicken is cool to touch, chop and set aside. Strain chicken stock and set aside.
Melt butter in a large stovetop skillet add mushrooms, carrots, corn, green beans, and cook about 5 minutes.
Add peas cook another 5 minutes.
Add flour, slowly add 4 cups of chicken stock so as not to make the filling too loose. Slowly add milk. Stirring consistently until thickened, about 5 more minutes.
Transfer filling onto par baked pie crust in pie dish. You will likely have left over filling. Set aside to make another pot pie or just enjoy separately. Cover pie dish with the second sheet of puff pastry, pinching the sides to overlap the pie dish. Go around the pie dish with the flat side of the fork, making impressions to help pinch the dough together.
Brush lightly with any leftover milk (you can use an eggwash, heavy cream, half and half, any protein will work). Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and poke a few air holes on top of pie with fork, to vent.
Place in oven and bake for about 35 minutes until pastry is puffy and golden.
Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Cut and serve.
