Chicken Pot Pie
It hit me today. I’d been keeping a tidal wave of anxiety at bay for weeks and it all came crashing down at once. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, I was on the verge of tears, straining for deep breaths.
This isn’t natural. Even for a bookish introvert like me, captivity is desolate. It’s categorically different from elective alone time because we no longer have the freedom to choose otherwise. Being robbed of agency, feeling trapped and helpless without the comfort of friends and family—all of us will experience low points throughout this time. My only advice is be receptive to whatever helps you move through it.
For me, watching I Love Lucy and making this chicken pot pie VERY NEATLY AND PRECISELY helped a lot. I sliced carrots as if Escoffier himself were breathing down my neck. I plucked every blessed thyme leaf off the stem and engraved delicate veins in the pastry leaves. I didn’t rush a single step and didn’t care that it meant eating dinner at midnight. I needed this pie to be comforting AF, and guess what? It was.
A few tips from an award-winning* pie veteran: CHILL. In body and mind but also in pie, chilling will solve all your problems. Why? Because the defining feature of a good pie is a flaky crust, and for that, you need the gluten to relax and the butter to melt slowly, creating steam pockets that make flakes! If you pop a room-temperature pie into a hot oven, the butter will melt too fast and you’ll get a tough, greasy mess.
The filling is super adaptable. If you have a few mushrooms on hand, toss em in! If you want to be extremely fancy, add some blanched pearl onions! If you need a little extra booze in there, go right ahead, just hold back a little on the stock. In the darkest hour, this pie was there for me, and it will be there for you, too.
Chicken Pot Pie
Pie Dough
Makes enough crust for 1 double-crusted pie or 2 single-crusted pies
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 pound cold unsalted butter, pre-cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 cup cold water
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
A few ice cubes
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk or heavy cream
Flaky sea salt (for finishing)
In a large bowl, whisk dry ingredients together and blend in the cold butter (I use a hand-held pastry blender but you could also use a food processor). The butter should be in pea-sized chunks, not too big, but not completely incorporated.
In a small bowl, mix water, ice, and cider vinegar. Add about 5 tablespoons of the vinegar mixture to your dry ingredients, use a fork or spatula to press (not stir) the dough together.
As you discover dry areas, add more vinegar water, one tablespoon at a time, bring it together using your hands but be careful not to overwork. As soon as the whole ball of dough just barely clings together, you’re done. Aim to create a shaggy, marbleized effect, so that some chunks of butter are still visible.
Cut the ball in half and divide into 2 discs of even thickness, wrap tightly in plastic, and chill for about an hour in the refrigerator while you make the filling.
Filling
Makes enough for 1 pie. You can also double it and freeze half.
2 split chicken breasts (bone-in, skin-on if possible)
Olive oil
Kosher salt + black pepper
2 tbsp fresh thyme
2.5 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 medium onion, chopped
6 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 cup medium-diced carrots
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 cup medium-diced celery
1 cup diced leeks (1/2-inch half-moons)
2 tbsp minced fresh parsley leaves
2 tsp minced fresh thyme
1/4 cup white wine
Preheat the oven to 350˚F
Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet and rub them with olive oil. Mix salt, pepper and about 2 tablespoons of thyme leaves (I like to rub the mixture between my fingers to help release the aromatics). Make a small space between the skin and meat and shove some of the spice mixture between the two. Sprinkle the rest liberally over the breasts and place in oven. Roast chicken for 35-40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside to cool.
While chicken is roasting, prep veggies and blanch carrots and celery in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.
In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock. If your stock is a little bland, you may want to fortify it with an extra bouillon cube.
Reserve the juices and fat in the baking sheet. Discard skin and bones. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and sauté the onions over medium-low heat until translucent. Add chicken juices and fat, then add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes until the flour is cooked.
Add the chicken stock and simmer over low heat about 5 minutes. As it thickens, add heavy cream (if you don’t have cream, don’t sweat it; it adds silkiness to the filling but isn’t ultimately make-or-break). Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, leeks, celery, parsley, thyme, and white wine. Season to taste.
If you’re making a double-crusted pie, chill the chicken filling completely before using. If you’re making a single-crust pie, simply ladle filling into the pie pan and set aside. You’ll have an extra disc of dough which you can freeze for a future pie!
Assembly
Preheat the oven to 425˚F
Lightly flour a clean surface and roll out a circle of dough until it is about 1/8 of an inch thick. I like to keep the dough moving as I roll (rotate, flip) so that I don’t end up with anything stuck to the surface at the end. Try to work fast so that the dough doesn’t get too warm.
Drape over the pie dish. Here’s a handy tip to make it easier to move: Roll the disc of dough onto your rolling pin, and then unroll it over the dish.
Add cooled filling to the bottom crust and chill. Don’t trim yet!
Roll out the second disc of dough.
Mix egg and cream for the egg wash, and brush this over the exposed edge of the crust, then place the second round of dough on top. Press down firmly to seal (you can use the tines of a fork, or crimp the edges in whatever manner you please).
Run a sharp knife around the edge to trim off excess pastry, slash a few steam holes and then brush the entire top with the egg wash. Finish with flaky sea salt.
If your kitchen is hot or you’ve been working for awhile and the dough is too soft, chill the whole thing for 15 minutes before baking.
Bake for 20 minutes at 425˚F
Reduce oven temperature to 375˚F and bake for another 20-30 minutes. If the top is browning too much, cover it loosely with foil.
*For real! I won best pie at a Brooklyn farmer’s market once, so there’s actual street cred behind these tips.
MEALS FOR HEALTHCARE WORKERS
As if restaurants and their staffs aren’t already going through complete upheaval in this moment, many are now pitching in to provide meals for heroic healthcare workers. If you’re able to support their valiant efforts, here is a useful list of NYC restaurants that are feeding frontline workers; here is another that includes restaurants in other major US cities.