Chicken Pot Pie - A Classic Comfort Food

I think Chicken Pot Pie is one of the grand dames of comfort food. As a cook, you can fancy this meal up or just leave it be and add some biscuits. When the kids are hungry just forget it all and tell them it is chicken chowder and add some bread for sopping up the gravy.

Let us share this recipe in pictures, starting with the mirepoix:

It all starts with onions, carrots, and celery. 50% of the mirepoix must be onion, 25% should be celery, and 25% carrot. So regardless of the amount you use, if for a big pot or a small pot, make sure you keep that picture in your mind. 50-25-25.

Now you sweat the mirepoix and the herbs you choose:

No one can tell you what herbs to choose, you are the boss. This is all up to what you have in the fridge and what you and your meal companions like for flavor. I added fresh parsley, thyme, rosemary, and a bay leaf. I also remembered I had dehydrated some mushrooms so I added a few after this shot, which you will see as the darker pieces in the next picture.

Remove the vegetables from the pan when they are sweated down, again to your liking. Now brown the chicken pieces. I added a little more olive oil when needed.

Once the chicken pieces are browned and no longer pink in the middle, remove them from the pan. You should have some nice fond ( brown bits ) on the pan. Now make a roux from butter and flour in the same pan with the fond. You can use chicken broth or water as the liquid. Then add the vegetables back. I removed the parsley stems and the rosemary stem. I also added some slightly defrosted sweet peas at this point. 

Now once you incorporate the vegetables, add the almost cooked chicken--and if you like, finely chopped fresh parsley.

I let this simmer until I was satisfied that the chicken was cooked through.

If the sauce thickens too much before you are sure the chicken is done, add a little more water, broth, or even cream.

Then into a pie plate. Then add the pastry to the top. Make slits for the steam to escape. My daughter and I made the pastry fresh but you can surely add some store-bought butter puff pastry just as easily.

I baked this Pot Pie for 55 minutes at 375* until the pastry was brown and the liquid showed through the edges of the dish. Notice the parchment under the pie plate. That is because it will likely bubble over. After the Pot Pie is cooked, let it rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting.

I used three chicken breasts, one carrot, one celery stick and one onion for this recipe. It fed 5 adults a healthy portion. I sent one such portion to our uncle. Remember your elders, they could use a good warm meal too.

It was a little messy to remove when I plated my portion since I serve myself last. I had my dinner with a salad and a side of goat cheese and beets.

~ Hugs from Mum