(Makes approx.15 small pies)
2 tbs of olive oil
2 medium carrots – diced
3 stalks of celery – diced
1 medium yellow onion – diced
1/3 cup all purpose flour
3 cups of chicken stock
1 stick butter
1 tbs chopped garlic
2 can chicken diced or 1 rotisserie chicken deboned, skinned and diced
1 pkg wild rice of your choice – prepared in advance
1 tbs Herbs de Provence
½ tsp turmeric
½ cup heavy cream
1 pkg of puff pastry OR Pie crusts
1 egg beaten for egg wash
Directions:
In a large pot sauté onions, carrots and celery in the olive oil until the onions are translucent. Add garlic and sauté for 1 min, then add the butter and allow to melt. Once melted, add the flour to create a roux. Cook the flour out approx.. 2 min, then add the chicken stock, stirring to create a thick sauce. Add the chicken, prepared rice, turmeric and herbs de Provence. Bring to a simmer for 5 mins to infused flavors, remove from heat and add heavy cream, stirring to combine.
Place individual pot pie pans on the counter and fill to within ¼ inch of top. (you can also make a large single casserole dish if you like) Cut puff pastry or pie crust to fit the top of the pie. If using pie crusts, cut slits in top of the pie and place on top of the filling. If using puff pastry, you can just place on top. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with course salt and pepper. Bake on a cookie sheet at 425 until crust is done.
Variations:
I use this recipe to prepare dinner one night and then use the remaining to freeze for later. Just wrap the extra in foil and freeze. You can reheat from frozen by baking on an baking sheet at 400 covered with foil until hot and bubbly, approx. 40 min. Remove the foil for the last few minutes until browned and crispy. If you decide to add a bottom crust, prick the bottom crust and par bake it before adding the filling. You can also use ground beef, pot roast, turkey, even shrimp if you like a variety of pot pies. Change up your veggies as well and add broccoli, peas, or sub out the rice for potato chunks. Use beef or seafood stock instead of chicken stock. The possibilities are endless.
The Story:
I love chicken. I love pie. I love chicken pot pies. Amazingly, I have never been a fan of Turkey and it seems like all the pot pies at the store are turkey. It’s a rather strong flavor for me and one I only usually enjoy one or two times a year. As a result, it became necessary to modify the pot pies to my taste. I also like my pies rather…. Juicy. Who doesn’t love food smothered in gravy? As a result of my pot pie love, I searched for a recipe that would generate the kind of yummies I enjoy. The trouble was every single recipe took FOREVER to make. I simply don’t like spending that kind of time making, I prefer to spend my time eating. The best recipe I found took a minimum of 3 hours. You had to make the crust, make the filling, simmer, boil, bubble, bake. Ugg. I made it my goal to reduce that time down to 30 min and still have it taste pretty good. Mission accomplished with this recipe. Use store bought crust. The quality today is really good, its easy to find and it’s fairly cheap. As for the rest, rotisserie chicken already made and spiced adds a tremendous amount of flavor. You can use canned, just know you will have reduced intensity of chicken flavor. Also, a lot of recipes call for cooling the filling before placing in your pies. You only need to do this if you are adding a bottom crust. I don’t always do that, so its not necessary to cool it and it makes cooking time a lot faster. If you do add a bottom crust for a more traditional pie and don’t want to cool your filling, par-bake it first. A few pokes with a fork and a few minutes in the oven will go a long way to getting that bottom crust done so you don’t have a soggy bottom. No one likes a soggy bottom!