Happy Pi Day!
This year isn’t nearly
as epic as last year, when the combined date and time matched pi to 8 numbers,
but pi day is awesome none the less, because it’s punny and everyone loves pie.
As much as I like
sweet pies, I decided to shake things up this year and make savory pot pies.
Usually I serve
chicken pot pie with biscuits, because that’s the way my mom made it (and it
still me favorite). But I’ve always
wanted to try pot pies with a pie crust.
Honestly, they reminded
me of those individual frozen pot pies (because those are the only ones I’ve
ever eaten that have pie crust – ohmygosh,
I loved those things in high school!) only they were approximately a million
times better because – duh – homemade.
Though I’ll probably still
usually make pot pies with biscuits (or cheddar biscuits!!), because pie crust
is a lot more work, these ones are certainly wonderful as a treat!
Individual Chicken Pot Pies
Adapted from Taste of Home
Pie crust
½
tsp salt
1
cup all purpose flour
6
tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut in small pieces
2-3
tbsp cold water
Filling
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large potato, diced
(about 1 cup)
2 large carrots,
diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 small zucchini,
shredded (optional)
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
½ tsp thyme
2 tbsp butter
½ cup flour
1 ½ cup chicken stock
¾ cup lowfat milk
2 cups cooked
chicken, shredded
½ cup frozen peas
Preheat the oven to
425 degrees F.
To make the pie crust, whisk
together the flour and salt in a medium sized bowl.
Using
a pastry cutter or two forks, cut the butter pieces into the flour until it
forms pea sized crumbles.
Beginning
with 2 tablespoons of water, sprinkle the water over the flour and butter
mixture and lightly mix until it forms a ball. Add additional water if necessary. Set aside and cover with a towel.
Heat the oil in a
large saucepan over medium heat. Add the
potatoes and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and zucchini
and cook until the vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the seasonings
and flour and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Slowly whisk in the chicken stock, followed by the milk and cook for 5
minutes or until the sauce is thickened.
Stir in the chicken and peas and cook until heated through.
Meanwhile, gently line
each ramekin with pie crust (I cut rolled dough into a large circle and gently
stretched it to fit the ramekins). Spoon
the thickened filling into each lined ramekin.
Cover each pie with a second crust.
Bake 30-45 minutes or
until the crust is browned and the filling is bubbly. Remove from the oven and cool slightly before
enjoying
Makes 6-8 pot pies,
depending upon the size of the ramekins.
I love your recipes but have a difficult time making some of them dairy free (one of my kids is allergic) do you know of a way to make the crust and filling turn out properly without the use of dairy butter and dairy milk? I have tried several baking recipes but they lack the crispy flakiness without the butter and I have yet to match the creaminess of milk in a sauce. Any advice you may have would be a tremendous help.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could help, unfortunately I'm not very familiar with dairy-free options. My mom loves to make "no fail" pie crust (a google search should find it). It uses shortening and vinegar for flakiness. For the filling, I'd try your favorite unsweetened non-dairy milk. Good luck!
DeleteThe hubby loves chicken pot pie, but like you I usually top mine with biscuits. I know he'd be thrilled with your double crust minis--and so would I :)
ReplyDelete