Dreamy Chicken Pot-Pie

With winter approaching, my cravings always turn to hot, bubbly dishes. When I think winter, I immediately think pie – more specifically, POT PIE! This is a quintessential American recipe that defines comfort food for me (along with fried chicken and mashed potatoes). When I was testing this recipe, I used Ina Garten’s ever-famous recipe for chicken pot pie – why reinvent something that is already amazing? Although, I have to admit, I prefer my modifications that omit 30% of the butter, small pearl onions, and heavy whipping cream (only to be replaced by a beautiful, tangy yogurt cheese). I also added celery (I love the crunch that it brings!) and replaced the parsley with thyme since I believe the flavors are much better this way.

I cut down cooking time by more than half by using store-bought rotisserie chicken (if you can, buy organic – Whole Foods has beautiful rotisserie chicken – why should you add an hour of cooking time to this recipe to just oven-roast chicken?). I also believe that this pot pie lends itself beautifully to a puff pastry crust. You CAN (if you must) make your own pastry dough, but I prefer spending less time making this beautiful dish and more time EATING it 🙂

I really hope you enjoy this recipe, my loves! You can modify it serve a large group by baking this in a large serving dish that is oven proof and serving it casserole style – whatever your heart desires (see below picture on the look of your pot pie if you do it family-style!). You can also make this vegetarian by using vegetable broth and cutting the chicken out. Or use beef or lamb meat instead for a spin on this – it will always be delicious – I promise!

Love,
Priyanka

Yields: 8-10 servings
Ingredients
3 cups boneless chicken meat from store-bought rotisserie chicken
5 cups chicken stock
2 chicken bouillon cubes (or two teaspoons of powder chicken bouillon)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
2 cups yellow onions, finely diced
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons labneh (strained yogurt cheese that is available at local Middle-Eastern markets). [You can substitute with 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream or sour cream.]
1 cup medium-diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
2 cups frozen peas
1 tablespoon thyme powder
puff pastry, store bought (in the frozen section)
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

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 (half of the stick) and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned.

Once the onions are lightly browned, add the peas, carrots, and celery to the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender (approximately 5 minutes). Add chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a separate pot, melt the remaining butter (the remaining 1/2 of the stick). Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for approximately 1-2 minutes until the flour cooks a little.

Add all of the hot chicken stock and vegetables to the flour. Continue stirring the mixture over low heat for another minute or so until well-incorporated and thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper, and labneh. Add the chicken and thyme. Stir well until well-incorporated. Taste and adjust seasonings according to taste.

Divide the filling equally among ramekins (oven-proof). Brush the outside edge of each ramekin with the egg-wash (acts like glue), and cover each ramekin with a circle of puff-pastry that is a little larger than the opening. Using your fingers, seal the opening with the pastry by crimping the dough to folder over the side. Brush the dough with egg wash and make 3 slits in the top with a sharp knife.

Place on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 25 minutes, turning once halfway through, until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.

Serve hot and enjoy! 🙂

Sweet & Savory Apricot-Plum Pie with Cheese

I recently attended my dear friend’s first annual pie party in San Francisco (how CUTE is that???). If you remember my recent Rustic Apple Tart post, my parents have beautiful fresh apples and apple-pears growing that I was planning to use for a traditional apple pie as my contribution to this super cute soireé. However, silly me, the morning of the event, I thought that I should contribute something way more creative than just an apple pie – after all, I didn’t want my apple pie sitting next to 10 other apple pies! How boring!!!

And thus was born this savory and mildly sweet pie recipe that pleases your tastebuds in a way that you didn’t know possible. The sweetness of the fruit and honey against the mild, loveliness of the cheese and mascarpone, against the nutty walnuts and almonds and touch of citrus is a beautiful combination that was more of an experiment than anything – and boy I’m glad I took this risk!

Feel free to use Brie or Taleggio cheese (or any cheese you enjoy eating) – also you can use other dried fruit if you don’t have a liking for plums or apricots.

I hope you enjoy this – if you do get to try making this at home, I promise it will be a blissful party in your mouth! This recipe even won a prize at my friend’s pie party for being one of the top 3 most liked pies!!! 🙂 Enjoy! 🙂

Ingredients

1 package store-bought pie crust
1/3 cup dried apricots
1 cup dried plums
4 ounces (or approximately 3 heaping tablespoons) of mascarpone cheese (you can use cream cheese instead)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup sliced almonds
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/3 cup honey
1 cup of cubed Dubliner cheese, (cut into 1/2-inch cubes)- if you don’t have/like Dubliner, you can use Brie or Taleggio!
2 tablespoons cold butter, cut up into small cubes
1 egg, beaten

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Put plum and apricot pieces in a bowl of boiling water and let sit for 20 minutes to rehydrate. Once 20 minutes are up, drain them and chop them up into bite-sized pieces.

Using a rolling pin, roll out the pie crust to fit your pie pan and press the dough into your greased (or sprayed) pie pan using your fingers.

In a medium bowl, combine the apricots, plums, mascarpone cheese, walnuts, almonds, lemon zest, lemon juice, cinnamon, salt, and honey. Stir until all the ingredients are well-coated. Stir in 2/3 of the cheese cubes, reserving 1/3 of it.

Fill the pie crust with the filling (use a spoon or spatula to even it out). Arrange the remaining cheese and butter on top of the filling evenly.

Using a pastry brush, brush the crust with the beaten egg.

Bake until the crust starts to turn golden, about 15 to 18 minutes. Cover the pie loosely with a piece of foil and cook until the crust is golden and the cheese has melted, another approximately 10 to 25 minutes.

Cut and serve warm! Enjoy! 🙂