Chicken Potpie – New England Today
Award-winning Boston pastry chef Joanne Chang credits her former executive chef, Corey Johnson, with this chicken potpie recipe. “He made this as a dinner special one cold blustery December week, and it sold so quickly that it became a staple on our dinner menu,” she says. Starting with good chicken stock, preferably homemade, the pie folds white-meat chicken, peas, carrots, and potatoes into Chang’s signature pie dough. You can assemble this pie and freeze it, then bake it right from the freezer (just add 10 to 15 minutes of baking time).
From “Winter Baking with Joanne Chang,” January/February 2020
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Extra-Flaky Pastry
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion, peeled and diced
- 1 celery stalk, sliced
- 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced thin
- 1 small russet potato, scrubbed clean, unpeeled, diced
- 1 pound boneless chicken breast, cut into 1- or 2-inch dice
- 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock
- 1 cup fresh or frozen peas
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 egg, for egg wash
Instructions
Make the Extra-Flaky Pastry and chill for 1 hour. Remove it from the fridge about 15 minutes before using.
On a well-floured work surface, roll out ²⁄3 of the pastry dough into a circle about 12 inches in diameter and 1⁄8 inch thick. (Reserve the remaining dough for the top.) Roll the dough circle around the pin and then unfurl it on top of a deep-dish 9-inch pie dish. Press the dough gently into the bottom and sides of the pan, leaving a ¼-inch lip to allow for shrinkage in the oven. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350° and place a rack in the center. Line the pie shell with parchment, fill with pie weights, and bake until light brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven; leave the oven set at 350°. Remove the weights and the parchment.
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat the butter over medium-high heat until it foams. Add the diced onion and cook until it softens up a bit, 2 to 3 minutes. Add celery, carrot, and potato. Stir until the vegetables start to soften, about 4 minutes, then add the diced chicken. Continue to stir over medium-high heat for another 2 to 3 minutes, until the chicken pieces start to turn white. Stir in the flour, mix to coat all of the meat and vegetables, and cook for about 2 to 3 more minutes. By this time it will start to look a bit sludgy, and there should be a brown film forming on the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken stock, and bring to a simmer. Add the peas, thyme, salt, pepper, and heavy cream and stir well. Simmer for about 5 minutes until the filling thickens, scraping up the stuff on the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and spoon filling into prebaked pie shell.
Roll out the remaining dough into a circle about 10 inches in diameter and ¹⁄8 inch thick. Roll the dough circle around the pin and then unfurl it over the filled pie shell, with the edge of the circle overhanging the edge of the pan by ¼ to ½ inch (you will trim off this excess once the pie is baked). Brush the top crust evenly with a beaten egg and poke a hole in the center to let steam escape. Place the pie on a baking sheet to catch any overflow. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the entire top crust is golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes before serving and trim any excess pie crust with a small paring knife.
