#81 - Chicken Pot Pie with Savory Topping

Mama Beck sent us this recipe to try out because she said it was a pretty good chicken pot pie. Let's see.

Chicken Pot Pie with Savory Topping

From Cooks Illustrated We're not big celery fans, but whenever we have a recipe that calls for a little bit, we struggle to find the right amount. Normally celery comes in quantities designed for a family of ravenous rabbits. So what we find ourselves doing is buying little snack packs that come with celery, baby carrots, broccoli, and a little ranch dressing. That way we have the right amount of celery, and we can snack on some other vegetables while we cook. This is a little unusual chicken pot pie because it's not really a pie. You put the filling ingredients in a casserole dish and crumble a pie crust-like topping on top. This is kind of a one pot meal. You'll actually need a pot and a bowl because you cook some ingredients in the pot, pull them out and put them in a bowl, and put more ingredients back in the pot. Well, you'll need a pot, a bowl, and that casserole dish we talked about. And an oven. And some sort of timing device. So yeah, you'll need a little more than just a pot. Ooooooh. This was amazing. The filling was super creamy and earthy, the crust topping had a really nice flavor of Parmigiano cheese to it, and the whole thing was just delicious. Good call Mama Beck. Get one pot, a bunch of other things, and make this one. You'll thank us.

Savory Topping

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 6 Tbs unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled
• 1 oz Parmigiano cheese
• 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbs heavy cream

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450 and adjust tack to upper-middle position.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper in a large bowl.
3. Sprinkle butter pieces over the top of flour mixture.
4. Using fingers, rub butter into flour until it resembles coarse cornmeal.
5. Stir in Parmigiano and mix to combine.
6. Add cream and stir until just combined.
7. Crumble mixture into 1/2 to 3/4-inch irregularly-shaped pieces and place onto a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet.
8. Bake until fragrant and starting to brown, about 10 to 13 minutes.
9. Set aside.

Filling

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 Tbs vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 2 small celery ribs, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 10 oz cremini mushrooms, stems trimmed, caps wiped clean and sliced thinly
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 4 Tbs unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3 Tbs fresh parsley leaves, minced
• 3/4 cup frozen baby peas

Preparation

1. Bring chicken and broth to simmer in a covered Dutch oven over medium heat.
2. Cook until the chicken is just done, about 8 to 12 minutes.
3. Transfer cooked chicken to a large bowl.
4. Pour broth through a fine-mesh strainer into a measuring cup and reserve.
5. Heat 1 Tbs vegetable oil in the Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering.
6. Add onion, carrots, celery, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper.
7. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 5 to 7 minutes.
8. While vegetables are cooking, shred the chicken into small pieces.
9. Transfer cooked vegetables into the bowl with the chicken and set aside.
10. Heat the remaining Tbs oil in the empty Dutch oven medium heat until shimmering.
11. Add the mushrooms, and cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms have released their juices, about 5 minutes.
12. Remove cover and stir in soy sauce and tomato paste.
13. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until liquid has evaporated, mushrooms are well browned, and dark fond begins to form on surface of the pan, about 5 minutes.
14. Transfer mushrooms to bowl with chicken and vegetables and set aside.
15. Heat butter in empty Dutch oven oven medium-high heat.
16. When foaming subsides, stir in flour and cook for 1 minute.
17. Slowly whisk in reserved chicken broth and milk.
18. Bring to simmer, scraping pan bottom with a wooden spoon to loosen browned bits, then continue to simmer until sauce fully thickens, about 1 minute.
19. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
20. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and 2 Tbs parsley.
21. Stir chicken-vegetable mixture and peas into the sauce.
22. Pour mixture into a 13x9x2-inch baking dish.
23. Scatter crumble topping evenly over the filling.
24. Bake on a rimmed baking sheet until filling is bubbling and topping is well browned about 12 to 15 minutes.
25. Sprinkle with remaining Tbs parsley and serve.