I have been craving cozy fall comfort foods lately and turned to Everyday Foods for inspiration. They have a recipe for a lighter version of the traditional chicken potpie. It looked great but I wanted to tweak it. Then when I tasted the filling, I changed it. A lot! No, it is not super low fat but for a pot pie it is much lighter than the more traditional versions. I am still not satisfied, I will keep trying and letting the recipe evolve but this is still one kick-butt dinner. I hope you enjoy my potpie journey!
2 cooked chicken breasts, I poached mine covered in broth with a bay leaf and peppercorns in the oven at 300F for 90 minutes but you could just get a roast chicken or saute up the meat
4 carrots, cut 1/4″ thick
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp of olive oil
1/4 cup of flour
2 1/4 cup of skim milk
1/4 cup of light cream
2 cups of frozen peas, thawed
juice of half a lemon
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
some chopped parsley
1 oz of finely grated Parmesan
1 sheet of puff pastry
Get out a Dutch oven and turn on the stove to medium heat. When pot is hot, add the oil. When oil is hot, add the carrots, onions, garlic and dried thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Saute 8-10 minutes stirring regularly. Sprinkle with flour and stir for two minutes. Gradually add milk and cream, stirring as you go and allowing the sauce to thicken. My sauce stopped thickening so I turned up the heat and kept stirring. It still seemed to have a hard time coming together so I combined a little cornstarch in a small bowl with cold water. This is called a slurry. I stirred it up and added it to the filling and it finally came together.
I took the pot off the heat and added the peas, chicken and lemon juice. I tasted the filling, it was so bland! I added some fresh chopped parsley and some grated parmesan for some additional flavour. It was still lacking so I shook in the Worcestershire sauce. Better but…next time I will deglaze the pan with wine and use less milk and replace it with chicken broth. I think I will also add a bay leaf while it cooks!
Instead of using phyllo dough I decided to use the puff pastry I had in the freezer. I used a springform pan which I put on top of the puff pastry and traced the circumference with a knife and cut out a circle. I put the filling in a deep springform pan and then topped it with the thawed but still-cold puff pastry. I put it in a 400F oven for around 35 minutes. It took a while for the puff pastry to puff and brown so I kept going in and checking so the timing may be different for you. Just keep an eye on it. Remember, the filling is completely cooked, at this point you are just baking the puff pastry under it is golden brown.
Yum! Yes, it still needs tweaking when it comes to making the flavours more complex for my picky palette but wow, still delicious. The only warning I will give here is once you have had a homemade pot pie, eating the ones that come out of a cardboard box will become challenging.
From time to time I buy a pre-roasted chicken — or if I have time I will roast one myself — and love to make the leftovers into pot pie. Or Thanksgiving leftovers, including the gravy. Sometimes I will buy a gross pre-made Pillsbury pie crust, but recently have been lucky that our food co-op is now making frozen pie crusts that aren’t full of additives and are quite inexpensive as well. This is just about my favorite food. (My husband calls the commercial ones “snot pies.” Yuck, but fitting.)
Suzie, that looks incredible!! I have never made potpie. I might just give it a go. I wonder if you could substitute evaporated skim milk for the cream? It has a creamy texture but less fat? I’ve had it with a bit of nutmeg in it too. Comfort food for sure! Big yum:)
Turkey would be great in this Suzy! Yes, the ones in boxes are filled with so many additives, it’s awful for you.
Aliceinparis, absolutely, you could use evaporated skim milk. I personally find it kind of sweet. I think using consomme and cutting down on the dairy will boost flavour too. Yes, nutmet would be a great addition! I will add some to my leftovers tonight.
*groan* Now I want chicken pot pie. The chances of me having this anytime soon are slim! Why do you always make me crave foods I can’t have? xD
This looks so delicious. Just yesterday I was looking for chicken pot pie recipes. And I’m sure this is much better for you than the frozen pot pies. Those things have like 600 calories!
YUM! I definitely would like to give this a try. I love pot pie – but the frozen ones are hugely high calorie. They also take something like 90 minutes to bake. In that time, I could make a homemade one instead!
I have never worked with either phyllo or puff pastry, but I’m gonna have to try it for this!
looks great. I have been meaning to ask you, what kind of camera do you use, your photos always look so fantastic.