Deconstructed Chicken Pot Pie

Who doesn’t like chicken pot pie?  I like it enough that I don’t mind making it from scratch.  But, I am not great at winding up with something with the perfect filling-to-crust ratio and at some point, there are just a few too many steps for my liking.  So, I decided to make a “deconstructed” chicken pot pie.  I would make the filling and then make biscuits separately.

I thought about looking for a recipe, but decided to wing it.  Two recipes that I have made before and like are Wolfgang Puck’s Chicken Pot Pie (https://wolfgangpuck.com/recipes/) and Ina Garten’s Seafood Gratin (https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/seafood-gratin-recipe-1953985).  I decided to riff off of both of them for the filling.  For the biscuits, it was mom’s classic biscuit recipe of course.

Here is what I came up with:

Chicken Pot Pie Filling:

• 2 cups of leeks chopped (about one leek – I got the cleaned, packaged leeks at Trader Joes)
• 2 cups chopped celery (since the leek was 2 cups, I based the rest of the veggies off of that)
• 2 cups of chopped carrots
• 2 chicken breasts, cubed
• Oil (I used canola, olive oil would work too)
• White wine (few splashes, maybe ¼ cup?)
• 4 tbsp butter
• ¼ cup flour
• 2 cups milk (I used whole milk this time, you can also use part milk, part chicken broth)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Herbs de Provence

In a skillet (I used cast iron) heat enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan over medium-ish heat.  Add the leeks, celery, and carrots.  Sauté vegetables until they reduce by approximately half (5 minutes-ish).  Add dash of salt.  Add splash of white wine, continue to cook for a few more minutes.  Once everything looks nicely softened, remove from pan (I just had a mixing bowl on the side to put things in to hang out).

Then throw the cubed chicken in the pan.  Season with salt, pepper, and a dash of herbs de Provence (if you want, I have a thing for thyme these days and like to use it whenever I think I can get away with it).  Once the chicken is cooked, remove from pan (I just stashed it in the same bowl with the veggies).

I had found a zucchini in the refrigerator, so I sliced it up and threw it in the pan to sauté for a few minutes too.  Mushrooms would be good too.  So, if you add any extra veggies, once they’re cooked, remove them to your storage bowl.

Then throw the butter in the pan.  Once it starts to melt, sprinkle in the flour and get your roux going.  This should pick up all the good bits that the sautéed veggies and chicken left in the pan.  Let the flour cook for a few minutes, then add the milk a bit at a time (I did not warm my milk first, which does make the roux seize up, but it will smooth out after it warms up, just keep stirring).  Add some salt and pepper to the sauce (it might have been fun to add some paprika or cayenne here…maybe next time).  Once the sauce is warm and starting to thicken, throw the chicken and veggies back in the pan.  Add fresh peas (1 cup?), stir to combine and let it sit there on low/medium low heat.

Now you can throw the biscuits together.

Mom’s Classic Biscuit Recipe

Preheat oven to 450.

• 2 cups flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1tsp salt
• 6 tbsp shortening (I used unsalted butter this time)
• 2/3 cup milk

Sift dry ingredients together.  Blend in butter or shortening.  Add milk.

Once the dough comes together, turn it out on a floured surface.  Roll it out (I just mashed it out with my hand).  Use a biscuit cutter (or a glass) to cut the biscuits.  Place on baking sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes (they will be pale, but should be slightly golden on top).

 

 

I served the filling in a bowl with the biscuits on a plate on the side.  I had 2 tablespoons of butter from the stick that I used to make the biscuits with, so I whipped up a little batch of honey butter (yum!).

Overall, I think it came out really yummy.  I could have cooked the vegetables more, they were a little crisp, but I liked the fresh crunch with the creamy sauce.  It certainly is a lot more steps than sheet pan dinner, I don’t think that I would like to go through this much bother every week.