The most flavorful, dreamy chicken pot pie. Recipe courtesy of Oquirrh Restaurant in Salt Lake City.
Ingredients
1.5-2poundsboneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces*
2Tablespoonsextra virgin olive oil
1/2large yellow or white onion, chopped
1/2poundmushrooms, chopped
1large celery rib, chopped
1large carrot, peeled and chopped
1clove garlic, minced
1/4cupwhite wine or cooking wine**
1cupchicken stock
1/2cupmilk (whole preferred)
1/2cupheavy cream
1/4cupunsalted butter
1/3cupflour
juice of 1/2 of lemon
1ready-to-bake, half pound puff pastry sheet***
1large egg, whisked
kosher salt and pepper to taste
flake sea salt and fresh thyme for garnish (optional)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400° F. Remove the puff pastry from the freezer and set on counter to thaw.
In a large skillet or dutch oven, heat 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and generously season with kosher salt and pepper. Cook for 5-10 minutes, until fully cooked and no longer pink inside. Set chicken aside in a separate bowl and keep juices from chicken in skillet.
Cook mushrooms, celery, carrot, and onion in the skillet with one additional Tablespoon of oil and juices for 5 minutes over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook for an additional 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft, being careful not to brown them. Deglaze the pan by adding the white wine or cooking wine to vegetables and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the pot is almost dry. Be careful not to burn. Add the chicken stock, milk, and cream to the skillet and bring to a simmer.
While the chicken and vegetable mixture is coming to a simmer, make the roux. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, whisk in flour and cook for 1-2 minutes, constantly whisking and until the flour and butter are a golden brown color. Once chicken and vegetable mixture is simmering, add the roux (flour and butter), chicken, lemon, and stir to combine. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until thick and bubbly. Salt and pepper to taste and emove from heat.
Fill a 9-inch pie plate will pot pie filling. With a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface, gently roll out the thawed puff pastry until it is wide enough to cover the top of the pie plate. Carefully place the puff pastry on top of the pie plate and filling, and tuck the puff pastry under the outside edges of the pie plate, gently forming the pastry to the edges. Brush the top and sides of the pie with the egg wash (whisked egg) with a pastry brush.
Place the pie on a rimmed cookie sheet, and bake in the center rack for 20-30 minutes, until the puff pastry is golden and brown. Remove from oven and finish with a sprinkle of sea salt and fresh thyme. Serve immediately.
Notes
*This recipe yields the best and most flavorful result when cooked with chicken thighs, which also provide a great flavor base to the pot pie filling. You may use chicken breast instead of chicken thighs, but you may need to add more fat to the vegetables while cooking.**If you do not have wine or cooking wine, you may use 1/4 cup of chicken stock instead.***We prefer to use a Pepperidge Farm ready-to-bake puff pastry sheet for this recipe, which can be found in most grocery stores in the freezer section. Most boxes of puff pastry come with two half-pound sheets, one of which you'll need for this recipe. You can also replace the puff pastry with a single pie crust and bake until golden and brown.