Its amazing what you can do with just a few simple ingredients. The other day I had a package of chicken breasts which needed using, along with a few bits and bobs and I created a delicious Chicken Pot Pie for us, with a Puff Pastry Topping and leftovers for a second meal the day after.
There was two largish single chicken breasts in the package. (The equivalent of 4 small ones.) These I covered with some light chicken stock and then poached until tender. I let them cool in the stock and then I shredded them with two forks. I kept the pieces bite sized. I like the rough look of shredded meat rather than cubes. I popped the shredded chicken into an enamel baking dish.
I toyed with the idea of making pot pies like the ones my mother used to buy when I was growing up. My mom made fantastic pot pies from scratch, but every now and then she would buy us some frozen ones which we saw as being a real treat.
I have no idea why. They were mostly white sauce, with some veg and only a tiny bit of meat in them, but then again . . . there is no accounting for taste, right? What do kids know?? They were different than what we normally had, a rare treat, and that made them special to us. Looking back, I would choose my mother's over them any day of the week!
So . . . scratch the white sauce. Instead I decided to use the liquid leftover from poaching the chicken and make a gravy with that, but I am getting ahead of myself here!
First I sauteed some chopped carrot, celery and mushrooms in a bit of butter . . . sweating them until they were tender and almost beginning to caramelise, but you don't want to let them brown. No, no, NO.
Once they were softened I whisked in some flour and then the stock from poaching the chicken. You might need to add a bit of water to give you the full amount. that's okay.
Once it has thickened, you add the frozen peas (I am partial to the petit pois) and some sage along with some seasoning, and then pour the whole lot over the chicken in the baking dish.
Now here is where I got a bit fancy smancy . . . I had a packet of Puff Pastry that was about to go past its sell-by date and so I used a flower shaped cookie cutter and stamped out large rounds to top the hot filling with, brushing them with an egg wash.
I popped it into the oven to bake for about half an hour, just long enough for me to boil some of our garden potatoes . . . .
I served them along side the pot pie, gilded with a bit of melted butter, parsley and seasoning. The whole meal was scrumdiddlyumptiously tasty good! And a fabulous way to make two chicken breasts stretch to either feed four people once, or two people twice! Everyone is a winner!
Yield: 4-6Author: Marie Rayner
Chicken Pot Pie with Puffed Pastry Topping
prep time: 30 minscook time: 30 minstotal time: 60 minsEverybody's favorite. You can make the filling ahead of time, however don't add the pastry topping until the day you want to bake it.ingredients:
For the filling:4 single chicken breasts, poached in lightly salted water until tender3 TBS butter2 carrots, peeled and chopped2 stick celery, trimmed and chopped4 ounces fresh button mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced2 TBS flour560ml chicken stock (2 1/2 cups)150g frozen peas (1 cup)1/2 tsp dried sagesalt and black pepper to taste You will also need:1 sheet of puff pastry1 free range egg, beaten together with 2 TBS milkinstructions:
Melt the butter in a skillet over medium high heat.
Add the carrots, celery and mushrooms. Cook, stirring often, until
light brown and tender. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring
occasionally until light brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in the
chicken stock a little bit at a time, stirring constantly, and bringing
to a low boil. Add the peas and sage. Season to taste with salt and
pepper. Simmer on low for about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark
5. Have ready a large shallow casserole dish. Shred the chicken with
two forks and put it into the casserole.
Pour the gravy/vegetable mixture over top of the chicken in the casserole
dish. Cut your puff pastry into rounds and place on top of the chicken
filling. Brush with the egg beaten together with the milk. Bake for 25
to 30 minutes until the filling is bubbling and the pastry is golden
brown and puffed. Serve hot.
Created using The Recipes Generator
This is the kind of cooking I really love to do . . . seeing what I have on hand and then creating something tasty from what's there! It is a good exercise in stretching my imagination, and more often than not works out to be quite delicious in the end! Bon Appetit!
