Chicken Pot Pie

Preparation Time: 15 minutes; Total Cooking Time: 1 hour 45 minutes; Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 500g (1Ib) boneless skinless chicken breast, thigh or leg diced and seasoned with salt and pepper (or 3 cups cooked and shredded, or rotisserie chicken)
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced peeled potatoes
• ½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes
• 4 cloves garlic crushed
• 75g (5 tablespoons) butter
• ½ cup all-purpose flour (spoon and level the flour, do not scoop)
• 4 cups chicken broth (stock) (you can sub a cup with milk or cream if you want)
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• ½ teaspoon each dried thyme and rosemary
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 x 2-litre (2-quart) baking dish
• Short-Crust Pastry
• (or 2 (9-inch) unbaked pie crusts)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF(190ºC) degrees ten minutes before using.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large pot or skillet over high heat and stir fry the chicken until no longer pink and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
3. Make the filling: In the same pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, potatoes and chilli flakes and cook until softened about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add the flour and stir to coat the vegetables. Slowly add the broth, whisking constantly until the sauce is smooth. Bring the sauce to the boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the peas, corn, rosemary and thyme, then stir in chicken. Check seasoning and adjust salt and pepper if necessary. Pour filling into a 2-quart baking dish. Stir in the Parmesan.
4. Roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Place the dough over dish and fold the extra inward while pinching to crimp edge. Make slits on the dough.
5. Place the dish on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling around edge, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.
6. To make potpies in advance:, cool the filling, then assemble. Cover with cling film and Freeze for up to 4 months. Bake at 425ºF (220ºC) 1 ¼  hours (1 hour for small pies).

Points to Note

1. I decided to make this at the spur of the moment so I didn’t have stock. I added two sachets of Knorr Bovril instant chicken bouillon.
2. You can also use two 9-inch shallow pie dishes. If you decide to line the base of the pie dishes then blind bake the pastry for about 7 minutes, before pouring the filling.

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