Chicken Pot Pie

I was craving chicken pot pie the other day.  Recently, I started getting into the habit of making an extra roast chicken any time I make one for dinner.  I can then use the leftover chicken for all sorts of applications from pizza to tacos to soup.  This week I searched for a recipe for a very traditional pot pie and found one that sounded very appealing in a new cookbook from the Culinary Instutute of America,  One Dish Meals They give you the option of using store bought pie crusts or puff pastry;  I went with the latter to excellent results.  I made the filling in the morning and stored it in the fridge in the casserole dish I was going to use to bake it.  I let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before placing the puff pastry on top.  Cut a couple of slits to vent and popped it into a 350 degree oven for about 50 minutes until the pastry was golden, brown and delicious.  Dinner was delicious, the puff pastry was flaky while the filling was flavorful and comforting.  I found the prep to be about 40 minutes and the rest of the time my little pie could just bake in the oven unattended.  The recipe calls for 2 pie crusts or pastry sheets so you could make individual crocks but I used one large dish and I only needed one sheet of pastry.

Chicken Pot Pie

3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups diced yellow onion
2 tsp minced garlic
3 tbsp flour
3 cups chicken broth (I used a bit more to keep it moist)
salt & pepper
1 cup diced carrot
1 cup diced celery
2 cups diced red or yukon gold potatoes
4 cups diced cooked chicken meat
1 cup green peas thawed if frozen
2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
2 9-inch prepared pie crusts or puff pastry sheets

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat until it shimmers.  Add the onion and saute, stirring frequently, until tender, 10 to 12 minutes.  Add the garlic and saute about 30 seconds.  Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until pasty and thick, about 2 minutes.  Add the broth, whisking well.  Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently, until thick, about 15 minutes.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Add the carrot, celery, and potato and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.  Add the chicken and peas and remove from the heat.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Stir in the chopped parsley.
• Spoon the filling into individual crocks or a baking dish.  Cut pie crust or puff pastry dough to the appropriate size (I rolled mine out to fit my dish and crimped the edges) and cover the filling.  Cut vents in the crust and press the edges to seal.
• Bake the pot pie until the crust is golden and flaky, about 45 minutes for a large pot pie and 25 minutes for individual crocks.  Serve immediately.