Puff Pastry Chicken Pot Pie. Oh baby, oh baby.

I still remember my dad buying dozens upon dozens of chicken, beef and turkey pot pies from the little old ladies at our first church in Corunna. They would bake up hundreds of these little guys over a weekend and sell them as a fundraiser. You could tell what kind of pie it was by the C, B or T marked-out on to the top of the pie by the prongs of a fork. For years we had oodles of little pies in our downstairs freezer. My dad just loved em'. Absolutely loved em'. So here's to you daddio, have mum make you a yummy puff pastry version! 

I adapted this following recipe from Ms.Martha into something that makes just a bit more sense for me. It’s quicker (it should only take about an hour, rather than all day, and even less time if you have a rotisserie chicken or chicken left overs instead of poaching your own - turkey of course is another great option), and I don’t mind saying the finished product doesn’t suffer one bit. This version is also simpler to serve and to save, as long as you have a few little oven-safe bowls. Heats up great the next day.


A little forewarning, this recipe is still a little involved, but not too crazy. The ingredient list is a mile long but most of these items you should have already. I didn't have a couple of things on the recipe but my little guys turned out great, so don't worry about the wine or freshly chopped parsley if you don`t have the on hand ... you get the idea! Bon appétit! 

Ingredients (to make 4 generous servings in 16-oz oven-safe dishes)
- 1/3 pound frozen puff pastry (that is to say half a box)
- 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium-large onion, chopped
- 2 medium potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 medium peeled carrots (about 8 ounces), cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 large cloves fresh garlic, diced
 - 1/3 cup white wine (I used about a 1/4 cup lemon juice)
- 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup milk
- About a pound and a half boneless skinless chicken breasts, poached and cut into small bite-size cubes
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (or about 2 teaspoons dried parsley)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoons coarse salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon water
- A sprinkle of garlic powder

Directions:

1. Prepare pastry. Thaw puff pastry according to package directions and roll it out on the counter to about 1/4″. Place all four of your dishes upside-down directly onto the puff pastry, with about 2″ space in between. With a knife, cut a circle around each bowl, leaving about 1″ of pastry visible around the edge. Place the dough circles on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and stick it in the fridge.

2. Place a rack in lower two-thirds portion of the oven. Preheat your oven to 425 (375 if it’s a convection).

3. Make filling. In a large heavy-bottom pot, melt 3 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add onion, potatoes, garlic and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes and carrots are fork-tender, 10 to 12 minutes. (It’s gonna smell like delicious home fries this whole time. Do your best not to eat it right out of the pan.)  Add wine and cook for 30 seconds. Add flour, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Pour in chicken stock and milk. Bring to a simmer; cook until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in chicken, peas, parsley, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to your four dishes and let them cool on a rack for about 5 minutes.

4. Make egg wash. In a small bowl, whisk together egg, extra egg yolk, some garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon water.

5. Assemble pies. Remove dough circles from refrigerator, and brush surface evenly with egg wash. Place each circle egg-wash-side-down over a bowl, pressing lightly to seal overhanging crust to the side of the dish. Brush top surface of each pie with egg wash. Cut a little X in the middle of each pie to allow the steam to vent.

6. Bake. Transfer pies to a parchment- or foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes; cover loosely with aluminum foil to prevent crust from burning, and continue baking for 25 minutes more.

7. Serve hot, but not too hot. Give it a minute. A chicken pot pie will just as soon burn you as look at you, so either make sure these little suckers don’t see you coming, or go do something else for ten minutes before you dig in.