Classic Chicken Pot Pie

Let's talk about pot pies. Because it was 60 degrees and sunny two weeks ago and now there are 10 inches of snow outside and I've been craving cold-weather food.

I love when pot pies have a lot of veggies it them - it makes me forget that I'm basically just eating butter in a kind of sophisticated way. Um, yeah, there's butter involved in this...

But there are also vegetables! Onion, carrot, celery, peas = Winning!

While we're talking about uncomfortable things, I have a disclaimer: I never thought I would be using bouillon cubes in a recipe, but I am. After much experimentation, I've decided it's the only way to get the chickeny flavor just right. UNLESS you have bone broth on hand. If you have that, use it instead of the chicken broth and forget the bouillon cubes.

Use homemade crust if you have the time. It is so quick, especially if you make several crusts ahead of time and keep them in your freezer until you're ready to use them. And really, homemade crust makes all the difference.

To make this recipe an easy weeknight meal, use leftovers. Turkey and chicken work great. You can have a piping hot pot pie ready in no time if you have this cooked chicken on hand.

Okay, let's look at pictures and then gettotherecipealready.

Pictured with Charred Brussels Sprouts.

Servings: 4
Time: Active: 1 hour, Inactive: 1 hour
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Ingredients

For the crust:

3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
16 tablespoons butter (2 sticks), chopped and chilled
3/4 cup - 1 cup ice water

For the filling:

4 tablespoons butter
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 small onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup flour
3 cups diced cooked chicken
1/4 cup frozen peas
Salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

For the crust:

Place flour, salt, and sugar into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse once or twice to combine. Add the butter pieces and pulse until butter is the size of peas, about 10-12 times.
Transfer contents of the food processor to a large bowl. Slowly add in the water, beginning with just 1/2 cup, and mix together with fingers. Add more water as needed, stopping when mixture just begins to hold together. The flour should be moist but not wet and still slightly crumbly.
Dump dough mixture onto a clean, dry surface and lightly knead it with hands until it forms a cohesive ball of dough. Divide in two, form each half into a disc, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes, until ready to use.

For the filling:

Melt the butter in a deep skillet over medium-low heat. Add in the onions, celery, and carrots and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened and onions are slightly translucent. While the vegetables are cooking, combine the chicken broth, heavy cream, and bouillon cubes in a microwave safe dish and microwave 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, until warm. Stir to dissolve the bouillon cubes, and set aside. Add the dried thyme and sprinkle the flour over the cooking vegetables, stirring to incorporate. Cook an additional 2 minutes, until the mixture becomes pasty.
Add the warmed chicken broth and heavy cream mixture to the skillet about a half cup at a time. Stir constantly until any lumps from the butter and flour have smoothed out and the mixture thickens, about 2 minutes. Once the mixture is smooth, add another half cup of the liquid. Continue stirring and adding more liquid until the mixture is smooth and thickened. This will take about 6 minutes total. Add the chicken and frozen peas and stir until incorporated. Salt and pepper to taste, remove mixture from heat and chill for at least one hour.
Once the mixture has chilled, preheat the oven to 425° and roll out the crusts into 10" rounds that are about 1/8" thick. Place one of the crusts in the bottom of a 9" pie pan and poke holes in it. Spoon the chilled chicken mixture into the pie pan and top with the second crust. Seal the two crusts together and cut slits into the top crust. Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake 30-35 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Allow the pot pie to set for 10 minutes before cutting.

Classic Chicken Pot Pie