Serves 6-8
1 recipe Savory Pie Dough Topping or Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuit Topping (below)
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts and/or thighs
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium-large onion, chopped fine
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut crosswise 1/4 inch thick
2 small celery ribs, cut crosswise 1/4 inch thick
Salt and ground black pepper
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
3 tablespoons dry sherry
3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1. Make the pie dough or biscuit topping and refrigerate until ready to use.
2. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the chicken and broth in a small Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat. Cover, bring to a simmer, and simmer until the chicken is just done, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a large bowl, reserving the broth in a measuring cup.
3. Increase the heat to medium-high and heat the oil in the now-empty pan. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until just tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. While the vegetables are sauteing, shred the meat into bite sized pieces. Transfer the cooked vegetables to a bowl with the chicken; set aside.
4. Heat the butter over medium heat in the again-empty pan. When the foaming subsides, add the flour; cook about 1 minute. Whisk in the reserved chicken both, the milk, any accumulated chicken juices, and the thyme. Bring to a simmer, then continue to simmer until the sauce fully thickens, about 1 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in the sherry.
5. Pour the sauce over the chicken mixture and stir to combine. Stir in the peas and parsley. Adjust the seasonings. (The mixture can be covered and refrigerated overnight; reheat before topping with pastry.) Our the mixture into a 13 by 9-inch baking pan (or shallow baking dish of similar size) or six 12-ounce ovenproof dishes. Top with the desired pastry. Bake until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is bubbling, 30 minutes for the large pot pie and 20 to 25 minutes for the smaller pies. Serve hot.
Savory Pie Dough Topping
Makes enough for 1 recipe Chicken Pot Pie
If you like a crust in, not just on top of, your pot pie, tuck the overhanging dough down into the pie, along the side of the pan, instead of fluting the edge.
1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening, chilled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
3-4 tablespoons ice water
1. Mix the flour and salt in a food processor. Scatter the shortening over the flour mixture, tossing to coat the shortening with a little of the flour. Cut the shortening into the flour with five 1-second pulses. Add the butter and continue pulsing, cutting in the solids until the flour is pale yellow and resembles course cornmeal, with butter bits no larger than small peas, about four more 1-second pulses. Turn the mixtures into a medium bowl.
2. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of the ice water over the mixture. With a rubber spatula, use a folding motion to mix the water in. Press down on the dough mixture with the broad side of the spatula until the dough sticks together, adding up to 1 tablespoon more ice water if the dough will not come together. Shape the dough into a ball, then flatten it into a 4-inch-wide disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes or up to 2 days before rolling.
3. When the pie filling is ready, roll the dough on a floured surface to approximate a 15 by 11-inch rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. If making individual pies, roll the dough 1/8 inch thick and cut 6 dough rounds about 1 inch larger than the dish circumference. Place the dough over the pot pie filling, trimming the dough that overhangs to within 1/2 inch of the pan lip. Flute the edges all around. Alternatively, don't trim the dough and simply tuck the overhanging portion down into the pie. Cut at least four 1-inch vent holes in a large pot pie or one 1 -inch vent hole in smaller pies. Proceed with Chicken Pot Pie recipe.
Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuit Topping
Makes enough for 1 recipe Chicken Pot Pie
1 cup (5 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup (4 ounces) plain cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, quartered lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces
3/4 cup cold buttermilk, plus 1 to 2 tablespoons if needed
1. Pulse the dry ingredients together in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the butter pieces and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal with a few slightly larger butter lumps.
2. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and add the buttermilk. Stir with a fork until the dough gathers into moist clumps. (If the clumps are still dry, add more buttermilk, a tablespoon at a time, up to 2 tablespoons in all.) Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and form into a rough ball. Roll out the dough until it is 1/2-inch thick. Using a 2 1/2- to 3-inch pastry cutter, stamp out 8 rounds of dough. If making individual pies, cut the dough slightly smaller than the circumference of each dish. (Dough rounds can be refrigerated on a lightly floured baking skeet covered with plastic wrap for up to 2 hours).
3. Arrange the dough rounds over the warm filling and proceed with the recipe for Chicken Pot Pie.
