Chicken Pot Pie

Talk about comfort food. Pot pies are so good. Like chicken soup but in a yummy, flaky crust. I can never finish one, so I think I will make smaller pies next time. I have made this using the garam masala pot pie filling as well. So good. So much better than the frozen ones--but I did love those as a kid.

Chicken Pot Pie

Pastry
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cold and cut into small chunks
3/4 cup ice water, plus more if needed

 Pot Pie
shredded chicken from rotisserie chicken (about half the chicken)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 quarts chicken broth
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 carrots, cut in 1/2-inch circles
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup fresh sweet peas, about 1 pound
1 garlic clove, chopped
Leaves from 8 fresh thyme sprigs
Needles from 1 fresh rosemary sprig, chopped
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 egg mixed with 3 tablespoons of water, for egg wash
Coarse salt

To make the pastry: Combine the flour and salt in a very large mixing bowl. Add the butter and mix with a pastry blender or your hands until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Pour in the ice water and work it in to bind the dough until it holds together without being too wet or sticky. Squeeze a small amount together, if it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Make 4 equal size balls of dough and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate while preparing the rest of the recipe (feel free to make the dough the night before if you prefer.)

To make the pot pie filling: Wipe out the stockpot and put it back on the stovetop over medium-low heat. Melt the butter and just as the foam subsides, add the flour, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or whisk to prevent lumps. This is a roux, which will act as a thickener. Cook and stir the roux until it's the color of a California blonde. Now, gradually pour in the chicken broth, whisking the entire time to prevent lumps. Whisk and simmer for 10 minutes to cook out the starchy taste of the flour and thicken the broth; it should look like cream of chicken soup. Fold in the carrots, pearl onions, peas, garlic, rosemary, thyme, and lemon juice; stir to combine. Simmer for 10 minutes to soften the vegetables a bit; season the mixture with salt and pepper. Stir in the shredded chicken until incorporated, remove from the heat and cool to room temperature; it will get quite thick as it cools down.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator and set it out on the counter for 5 minutes to warm up a bit, making it easier to roll out.

Sprinkle the counter and a rolling pin lightly with flour. Take each dough ball and separate into 2 smaller balls--keep one slightly larger than the other. Roll out larger ball so that it covers your oven safe dish. Scoop pot pie filling to fill bowl. Roll out smaller ball and cover bowl. Squeeze edges together to seal. Cut a slit in the top of pie. Lightly beat the egg with 3 tablespoons of water to make an egg wash and brush it on the dough. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Place the chicken pies in the oven and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until puffed and golden. Let the chicken pie rest for 10 minutes before moving it.

Source: Tyler Florence