Homemade Pot Pie

This recipe is the definition of “comfort food.” It is impossible, even, to read the ingredient list and not be transported to your grandmother’s kitchen. Can’t you just see your child self kneeling outside the little oven window, watching the pastry crisp and the gravy bubble? Wait until you get a load of the smoked mozzarella added here; you’re up for a brand new twist on the sensory memory! Enjoy.

cooking information

• Yield: 9 Sandwiches
• Prep Time: 20-30 Minutes
• Cooking Time: 1 Hour

all ingredients

• 3 Chicken Breasts
• 4 Portobello Mushrooms
• 1 Cup Variety Mushrooms
• 1 Cup Pearl Onions
• 2 Carrots
• 3 Stalks Celery
• 4 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
• 3 Stalks Fresh Rosemary
• 6 Fresh Sage Leaves
• 1/4 Cup Flour
• 3 Cups Whole Milk
• 3 Cups Chicken Stock
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 Sheet Frozen Puff Pastry
• Smoked Mozzarella
• Fresh Chives

recipe instruction

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Clean your chicken of any unwanted fat or gristle. Place the chicken on a cookie sheet, season both sides with salt and pepper and then put in preheated oven. Cook until the chicken is firm – it’s become opaque, and the juices are clear.

3. Prepare your vegetables: Remove the stems from the mushrooms, remove any major dirt, and dice. Finely chop your carrots and your celery.

4. To a large saute pot, add butter and turn to medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted, add your rosemary, sage, and mushrooms; saute until tender. Next, add your carrots, celery, and pearl onions. Cook until tender.

5. Once all the vegetables are cooked, add your flour and stir until it has coated all of the vegetables and a film has started to develop on the bottom of the pot.

6. Next, add your whole milk to the vegetables. Stir until it starts to thicken, then add your chicken stock and stir together again. Reduce the heat, but continue to let it simmer.

7. While your chicken is cooking and your vegetables are simmering, you can cook your puff pastry. First unfold the puff pastry sheet and cut into 9 equal squares. Place the squares on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Place the cookie sheet in the oven and let cook 15 minutes or until the puff pastry has risen and turned golden brown.

8. When the chicken is finished cooking, remove from the oven and let cool. After it’s cooled, shred it by hand. It doesn’t have to be super finely shredded, but small enough to be able to eat in one bite. Place the chicken in the pot with the vegetables. Taste the finished product and season with salt and pepper.

9. After the puff pastry is finished cooking, remove from the oven and let cool. Once they have rested, slice in half to create what will be the “buns”.

10. After the liquid in the vegetables has reduced and you have a thick delicious concoction, it’s time to assemble the sandwiches. First, spoon some of the chicken pot pie filling on the bottom portion of the puff pastry, next add a bit of shredded smoked mozzarella, a sprinkle of fresh chives, and finish with the top portion of puff pastry.

11. Serve hot and enjoy!

cooking tips

• If you are amazingly organized you can make the chicken filling ahead of time and bake off the puff pastry a day in advance. You could simply just have to reheat the vegetables before the party started and then you would just have to assemble the sandwiches.
• This is just a fun take on the classic dish, but if you wanted to keep it classic you could always add the chicken pot pie filling to a baking dish and top with the puff pastry and then bake it in the oven. Either way you can’t go wrong!
• This recipe is a great way to use any leftovers you have in the refrigerator. Substitute steak for the chicken, whatever vegetables you need to use for mushrooms, and whatever herbs you have available (dried herbs always work too).