13.7.09

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The Best Chicken and Sweet Leek Pie with Flaky Pastry

A wise man once said, “homemade pot pie is waaaayyyyyyy better than frozen pot pie”. And today, I can say that I whole-heartedly agree.

Let’s backtrack. I didn’t grow up on the typical American diet, but rather, on my grandmother’s cooking, which is largely Sichuan with some Taiwanese strewn about. This happens when one is born and raised in the US, but under the strict surveillance of immigrant parents. But my parents weren’t totally heartless–I had my fair share of McDonald’s Happy Meals and macaroni-spaghetti. Oh, and microwaveable chicken pot pie, courtesy of Marie Callender’s. In my mother’s defense, she really tried her best to incorporate Western cuisine in our diet. But whipping up an American feast was not instinctual. And pot pie was one of those mythical dishes that seemed impossible to make. I mean, the buttery, flaky crust alone…how does one…

With leftover roast chicken finding solace in my fridge, I decided that it was time to disturb the peace and make a pot pie. I had seen a gorgeous-looking chicken pot pie in the Jamie’s Dinners book that needed to be brought to life. The other challenge was to use everything left over from the last meal, which has been an uphill battle since I started cooking on my own. As you can see from the last post, I had plenty of purple potatoes and onions left. All I needed was some carrots for the mire poix, which was merely a quick visit to the market. But at the checkout counter, I suddenly remembered the other essential piece of the pot pie puzzle– flaky pie crust! I hurriedly grabbed the frozen Pepperidge Farms puff pastry dough and tried not to feel too guilty about the short cut. EDITOR’S NOTE: Jamie actually calls for packaged puff pastry in the recipe. Phew.

Making pot pie isn’t as daunting as one would think. It’s actually kind of a meditative experience. There’s a lot of stirring and waiting involved. Basically, you chop everything up and cook it all together in a pot over the fire. I took a detour from Jamie’s original recipe since I was working with pre-cooked chicken, which clearly would yield no broth. I used boxed chicken broth instead, using more of the broth than milk. I figured that I’d at least try to make a healthy pie. (I always have chicken broth on hand- it’s such a great substitute for salt and butter and I often stir a little bit of broth into my cooked veggies.)

After all’s said and done, the defrosted puff pastry was rolled out over the pie dish and the cooked chicken stew. With a little egg wash and fake knife-drawn lattice pattern, the pie was ready to be baked. And while it was baking and filling the kitchen with a scent that caused hunger pangs, I made a quick butter lettuce salad.

When the pie was ready, it had a perfect golden brown crust. I was really impressed with how beautiful it turned out. At first it looked a little puffed up on steroids, but after a few pokes with a fork, the pie crust found its way back down to earth.

Using my Alessi pie server, I served myself perhaps the most scintillating pot pie experience, ever. Maybe I was tipsy from all wine that went into the stew or maybe making my own pie was just that extraordinary of a feat, but I ate myself silly and have been dusting off my shoulder since then. I wonder if my mother would prefer it over Marie Callender’s?

Maybe not.


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Choppity chop chop

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So. Much. Chopping

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A colorful mélange of a delicious mire poix

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ROYGBIV vegetable action

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If you think Brits look doughy…how about this raw pie crust?

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Pepperidge Farms did not let me down!

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I must say, this is the best pot pie I’ve ever had. Yes, I am patting myself on the back right now.

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Now you see it…

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And now you don’t.

RECIPE EDITED BY ME
Serves 4-6
Olive oil
2 knobs of butter
2 medium leeks, trimmed, washed, sliced into ½-inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled, roughly chopped
2 sticks of celery, finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, smashed
handful of thyme leaves
2-3 cups of left over shredded roast chicken
leftover roasted potatoes/onions/veggies
2 tablespoons flour
salt and pepper
1 glass white wine
½ cup milk
1 cup organic free range chicken broth
chopped parsley

1 sheet all-butter puff pastry from package
1 egg (for wash)

Preheat oven to 425˚F. Add oil to medium pot over medium heat. Add leeks, carrots, celery, garlic and thyme and cook until soft and translucent, about 15 minutes. Add flour and keep stirring. Add chicken and other leftover vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. Add wine, milk, and broth. Continue stirring and cooking for about 30 minutes until stew is thick. Stir it every so often so it doesn’t catch on the bottom of pan. Sprinkle chopped parsley before removing from heat.

Pour chicken mixture into 9-inch round pie dish. Roll out pastry to about ¼-inch thick. Egg-wash rim of dish and drape over pastry. Use knife to trim edge of dish. Use back of knife to lightly criss-cross the top (this allows pastry to go crisp and flaky). Bake in oven until crust is golden brown, about 30-40 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

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