Makes 2 Pot Pies (8 servings each) with nice thick crusts, and enough extra filling to freeze for another pie later!
Ingredients, Filling
- 4 cups diced peeled potatoes
- 1-3/4 cups sliced carrots
- 1 cup butter/margarine, cubed (I used 50-50 butter/parkay margarine)
- 2/3 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup whole wheat flour (or white flour)
- 1-3/4 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3/4 teaspoon pepper
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1-1/2 cups milk (I used 2%)
- 2 to 4 cups cubed cooked chicken (only had 2 cups, so I used 2C)
- 1 cup frozen peas (I used Endamame beans instead)
- 1 cup frozen corn (omitted as family member has allergy to corn)
Filling – Directions
1.) Place potatoes and carrots in a large saucepan; add water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook, covered, 8-10 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain.
2.) In a large skillet/deep frying pan, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook and stir until tender. Stir in flour and seasonings until blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir two minutes or until thickened.
3.) Stir in chicken, peas or endamame, corn and potato/carrot mixture; remove from heat.
Ingredients, Pastry
- 4 cups (500 ml) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt
- 2 cups (454g …. one whole pkg) cold butter (I used salted), cut into small 1/4″ to 1/2″ cubes
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) really cold water
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) white vinegar
Pastry – Directions
** Work the dough as little as possible, ’cause the more it’s handled, the tougher the dough will be. ***
1.) Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Now add butter chunks a few pieces at a time, and mix in with a spoon. Once all the butter has been added, mix dough by hand, squeezing the lumps of butter until there are no more chunks.
2.) Now add the water and vinegar. Once well mixed, remove the dough from the food processor and form into four discs with your hands. Add a bit of water, if it hasn’t formed into a flaky dough. (It should be a little bit on the flaky side, but not too flaky)! Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3.) With the rack in the middle position, preheat the oven to 350 °F.
4.) Lightly coat two 23-cm (9-inch) pie plate pans with oil or butter…. then, on a floured work surface, roll out the discs of dough. Keep the work surface coated lightly with flour.
5.) Once rolled out, line the pie plates with two of them. Spoon the cooked chicken filling into the crusts. Cover each with the second sheet of dough, crimp the edges, then brush a bit of milk over the tops. Punch in four or five sets of holes in the top crusts with a fork.
6.) Bake for about 50-60 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown on top. Let rest for 15 minutes and serve.
** Using the above ingredients, I ended up with approx 2 cups of filling left over!. Freeze it, and use to make chicken with dumplings/biscuits, or make another pie later!
Nutrition Facts: 1 serving: 475 calories, 28g fat (14g saturated fat), 74mg cholesterol, 768mg sodium, 41g carbohydrate (5g sugars, 2g fiber), 15g protein.