Alison Roman's "Chicken" Pot Pie

Name: Alison Roman's "Chicken" Pot Pie
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 lbs mushrooms, any variety; kosher salt; ground black pepper; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1/2 bulb fennel (instead of 4 celery stalks); 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 1 medium onion, thinly sliced (or leeks, shallots, etc.); 1 tablespoon thyme leaves, coarsely chopped; ¼ cup all-purpose flour; ½ cup white wine; 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth or stock, or three cups water and one tablespoon Better than Bouillon; ½ cup frozen peas; ¼ cup finely chopped parsley; ¼ cup finely chopped chives; 2 tablespoons finely chopped tarragon; 1 12-or 14-ounce sheet (or 2 8½-ounce sheets pressed together at the edges) frozen puff pastry, thawed, rolled into a 12-inch circle; 1 large egg, beaten

10 steps

If you like stuffing, if you like things baked beneath a buttery crust, then this pot pie is for you. Want to make it vegetarian? Use mushrooms as you would the chicken, browned in plenty of fat before proceeding with the recipe. Don’t have good puff pastry? Use pie crust. This recipe, while appearing fussy, is actually extremely flexible (relatable!). I am confident that this recipe is foolproof, but will still offer a word of caution against a soupy filling: counterintuitively, your mixture will actually thin out slightly when baking beneath whatever crust you place on top, so you want the chicken mixture to be on the thicker side before it goes into the oven.

Updated at: Wed, 16 Aug 2023 21:10:10 GMT

Nutrition balance score

Good

Glycemic Index

Low

Glycemic Load

High

Nutrition per serving

Calories387.5 kcal (19%)

Total Fat18.7 g (27%)

Carbs40.3 g (16%)

Sugars7.3 g (8%)

Protein13.8 g (28%)

Sodium399.3 mg (20%)

Fiber4.2 g (15%)

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Ingredients

6 servings

2 lbsmushrooms

any variety

kosher salt

ground black pepper

2 tablespoonsolive oil

0.5 bulbfennel

instead of 4 celery stalks

6garlic cloves

finely chopped

1onion

medium, thinly sliced, or leeks, shallots, etc

1 tablespoonthyme leaves

coarsely chopped

¼ cupall-purpose flour

½ cupwhite wine

3 cupslow-sodium chicken broth

or stock, or three cups water and tablespoon Better than Bouillon

½ cupfrozen peas

¼ cupparsley

finely chopped

¼ cupchives

finely chopped

2 tablespoonstarragon

finely chopped

1 x 12 ouncefrozen puff pastry

sheet, thawed, rolled into a 12-inch circle

1egg

large, beaten

Instructions

Step 1

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper, set aside.

Step 2

Heat oil in a large (8”–10”) skillet (preferably cast iron or other heavy bottomed skillet) over medium-high until just beginning to smoke. Arrange mushrooms in skillet in a single layer and cook, undisturbed, until bottom side is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, toss mushrooms, and continue to cook, tossing often and reducing heat as needed to avoid scorching, until golden brown all over, about 5 minutes more. Remove mushrooms from skillet.

Step 3

Add the onion and garlic to the skillet (+ 1 tbsp more of oil, if needed), season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until mostly softened with a bit of caramelization at the edges, 3–5 minutes. Add fennel and thyme, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally until the fennel is tender and just cooked through, 5–8 minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring constantly until it is mostly evaporated, about a minute or so.

Step 4

Add the flour on top of the vegetables and stir to coat them all. Cook, stirring constantly until the flour has started to turn a light golden brown with no white, floury bits left, 3–4 minutes (you’re toasting the flour here, but because of the vegetables, might take longer than a usual roux).

Step 5

Slowly add the stock ½ cup at a time, using a wooden spoon to blend and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the skillet. Do not worry about lumps or it looking too thick— it’ll smooth out, promise. Once all the stock is added, bring to a simmer and remove from heat. If soupy, keep on heat to thicken.

Step 6

Add the mushrooms, peas, parsley, tarragon and chives and stir to combine. Season one and final time (lots of seasoning in this recipe) with salt and pepper. If mixture is still very soupy, add 1 tbsp more of flour to thicken.

Step 7

Carefully unfold the puff pastry and if you feel like it needs it, smooth it out using a rolling pin (or your hands). Working quickly, place it on top of the skillet (do not worry about it being a perfect circle), letting some of the dough hang off the sides (this will keep it from shrinking too much).

Step 8

Whisk the egg with 1 teaspoon of water and brush it onto the top of the puff pastry. Cut three 2½-inch slits, about 1-inch apart. Sprinkle with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Place the skillet on top of the parchment-lined sheet pan to catch any drips as it bakes.

Step 9

Bake until puff pastry is deeply golden brown, baked through all the way and filling has thickened considerably, 30-40 minutes.

Step 10

Remove from heat and let cool slightly before eating.