Chicken Pot Pie

Serves: 4

Hands On Time: 1 hour and 0 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours and 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 whole rotisserie chicken

4 cups good-quality chicken broth (see note)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 large carrot, peeled and diced

1 parsnip, peeled and diced

1 rib celery, diced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

1 clove garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 Yukon Gold potato, peeled and diced

1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed

2 tablespoons heavy cream

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed

2 large eggs, beaten

Instructions

Remove meat from the bones of the rotisserie chicken, discarding skin. Pull the meat into bite-sized shreds and measure out 4 cups of meat. Save the remainder for another use. 

In a large pot, combine the bones of the chicken with the chicken broth. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain the stock into a large measuring cup and discard the bones. Measure out 2 cups of the broth to use in the recipe and save the remainder for another use.

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large cast iron skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. When the butter is foamy, add the onion, carrots, parsnips and celery, and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables have softened slightly, 6 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the thyme, garlic and bay leaves, and cook, stirring, until aromatic, about 1 minute. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the raw starchiness has cooked out, about 3 minutes.

Add hot chicken broth, stirring constantly to break up any lumps, and then stir in the potatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce has thickened to a gravy-like consistency, about 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken, peas and heavy cream and simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes, then remove from the heat. Remove the bay leaf and stir in the parsley.

On a lightly floured counter, roll out one sheet of puff pastry until it measures about 12 inches across. Place two ramekins upside down on the pastry and cut a circle around the ramekins, leaving about a 1 inch pastry border around the rim. Place the pastry rounds on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pastry and ramekins. 

Flip the ramekins right-side up. Divide the chicken filling between the ramekins and, using a pastry brush, brush the rims with a little bit of the egg wash. Place the pastry rounds on top of the ramekins, fold the excess pastry over the side of the ramekins, and press firmly to seal. Brush egg wash over the top of the pastry.

Bake until the pastry is puffed and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve hot.

About the recipe

While making a rich chicken stock from scratch is always preferred, the reality is that we don’t all have the time or storage space to pull that off. For an easy facsimile, we like to simmer the bones from a rotisserie chicken with store-bought broth to add depth of flavor. You’ll need 4 cups of the chicken meat and 2 cups of the fortified stock for this recipe; save the remainder for another use.