Herbed Chicken Pot Pie

There's only one week of winter break left, and I am going to make the most of it- by spending more time in the kitchen.

Today, I was flipping through Sur La Table's book The Art and Soul of Baking when I came across a mouth-watering photo of chicken pot pie. I've never made this dish myself, so I decided to finally try it. The outcome was a success; my entire family approved (surprisingly) and I thought my pie crust tasted especially good with the savory pie filling.


Try this recipe out for yourself! You'll thank me.
Make sure you wear an apron though, because some of the whisking gets a little exciting ;) I found this apron that I decorated when I was younger. It doesn't really fit anymore, but it helped protect my awesome T-shirt from flyaway peas and flecks of butter.


Now you're ready for the recipe! I've made some changes, because my family members would never eat this if it wasn't spicier.

For the filling you will need:

1. 3/4 stick butter
2. 6 tbsp all-purpose flour
3. 4 cups chicken broth
4. 1 tbsp olive oil
5. 1 lb cooked chicken meat, diced
6. salt, black pepper, red pepper (1 teaspoon each)
7. chopped parsley, thyme, and chives (around 1 tbsp of each)
8. veggies:
   10 oz. sliced mushrooms
   1 cup frozen peas
   1/2 cup diced carrot
   1 cup diced onion
   1/2 cup diced celery

STEP 1:
Melt butter in a saucepan. Add the onion and celery, and stir occasionally until softened (5-7 min).
Remove pan from heat and whisk in the flour. Return to heat and cook for 3 minutes, whisking to keep the flour from turning brown.
Remove pan from heat and add 1 cup of broth. Whisk until the mixture is smooth and paste-like.
Make sure there are no lumps of flour, then whisk in the remaining 3 cups of stock.

STEP 2:
Return to heat and bring to a boil. Add carrots and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

STEP 3:
Heat the olive oil in a saute pan. Add the mushrooms and cook until deep golden brown (10-12 min).
Mix the mushrooms, chicken, peas, parsley, thyme, and chives into the filling. Add the seasonings.
Set the filling saucepan in a large bowl filled halfway with ice water. This is to chill the filling so that it doesn't melt the flaky pie dough when it is placed on top of the pie.

STEP 4
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Scrape all of the filling into a pie pan and cover it with pie dough. I made my own pie crust, but you can also buy it ready-made at a grocery store.



In a small bowl, beat an egg yolk with 2 tbsp of milk and use a pastry brush to brush this glaze across the surface of the pie.

Bake for 40-45 minutes until the filling is bubbling and the crust is crisp and golden-brown. Transfer to a rack and cool for 15-20 minutes. Serve hot, spooning filling and crust into wide, shallow bowls. Enjoy your chicken pot pie!