Just One Bite

Chicken Pot Pie

Get this:

4 chicken thighs
Buttermilk
4 medium carrots, cut in half-moons
1 medium yellow onion, diced
Olive oil
1 lb. mushrooms, sliced
1 C peas, frozen
2 T unsalted butter
2 T flour
1 C chicken stock
Old Bay Seasoning
Crème fraiche
Lemon thyme, fresh—two or three sprigs
Salt and pepper, to taste
Pie crust, chilled
1 egg, beaten

Do this:

Marinate the chicken thighs in buttermilk overnight (or at least four hours).

Lightly season with Old Bay and slow roast in a 225-degree oven until internal temperature is 160 degrees, about two to three hours depending on the size of the thighs and whether you are using boneless or bone-in.

Remove meat from the bone—if you are using bone-in—or cut boneless thighs into bite-sized chunks, cover with foil and set aside. Reserve any pan drippings.

Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. Coat carrots with olive oil, lightly season with salt and roast until fork-tender, about 35-45 minutes. Alternately, you can skip this step and add the carrots to the onion and mushroom mixture, but I think taking the extra step to oven-roast them adds to the depth of flavor and texture.

Heat unsalted butter in a pan over medium-high heat and sauté onions until they begin to turn translucent. Add mushrooms and lemon thyme (if you can’t find lemon thyme, no worries—you can substitute thyme. If you can’t find fresh thyme, you can use a half-teaspoon or so of dried). When carrots are done, add to mushroom and onion mixture, add peas, mix thoroughly and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a separate pan, melt 2 T unsalted butter over medium-low heat. Add flour and mix into a roux, stirring constantly and cooking slowly to allow the flour taste to dissipate. Slowly add chicken stock, stirring until the mixture thickens. Add chicken drippings and keep stirring until smooth.

Roll out one pie crust, line pie tin and remove excess dough from around the edges. Lightly dust with flour. Arrange chicken pieces in one layer, add a layer of vegetable mixture, then top with remaining chicken pieces.

Gently reheat thickened chicken stock, if necessary, and stir in ½ C crème fraiche and mix until smooth. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour over chicken and vegetables in the pie tin. Chill in freezer while you roll out the top pie crust.

Remove pie from freezer, top with the rolled out crust, trim and crimp edges.

Make small slits in the top crust, brush with beaten egg.

Bake in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake another 30 or so minutes until crust is golden and the pie is bubbling.