Rhody Recipe: The Kitchen McCabe Shares How to Make Chicken Pot Pies

These little pot pies are sure to be a hearty fall and winter favorite. Tender dark-meat chicken is thrown together in a creamy sauce with rosemary, shiitake mushrooms, and celery root, and topped with a flaky round of puff pastry. If you’d like to skip a step, you can shred a rotisserie chicken instead of cooking chicken thighs. Make the filling ahead of time if you like; it’s even better once it’s sat in the fridge for a day and the flavors have deepened. Just heat the chicken filling mixture in the mini pie dishes in the oven until heated through, then top with the cooked pastry rounds. These pot pies can be made as minis or as one big pie.

Ingredients

• 8 chicken thighs, bone-in

•  4 cups chicken broth

•  1 sprig thyme

•  1 sprig rosemary

•  4 tablespoons butter

•  1 red onion, diced large

•  1 large celery root, cut into half-inch cubes

•  4 stalks celery, sliced

•  1 lb. mushrooms, cut in half and then thickly sliced

•  1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

•  1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme

•  ⅓ cup flour

•  3 cups chicken broth, reserved from cooking juices

•  ½ cup heavy cream

•  1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed

•  1 egg, beaten

FOR THE CHICKEN

1. Place the chicken thighs, chicken broth, thyme and rosemary sprigs in a slow-cooker and cook on high for four hours.

2. Allow to cool slightly and then remove the bones and cartilage.

3. Shred the chicken just slightly and set aside.

4. Strain the broth in the base of the slow-cooker and set aside as well.

FOR THE FILLING

1. Melt the butter in a large stock pot over medium/high heat. Add the onion, celery root, and celery, along with a pinch or two of coarse salt, and sauté 4-5 minutes, or until the vegetables begin to soften.

2. Reduce heat to medium. A little browning is fine.

3. Add the chopped herbs and mushrooms to the vegetables  and sauté for another 2 minutes.

4. Add the flour to the vegetables, stirring to coat, and allow to cook for 1 minute.

5. Add 1 cup of the reserved chicken broth to the vegetables and stir well until it thickens and the sauce is smooth.

6. Add the remaining 2 cups of broth and stir until combined and smooth. Allow the filling to simmer for 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly until the vegetables are very tender.

7. Add the cream to the filling. Check the seasonings and add more salt and pepper as needed.

8. Add the chicken into the filling and stir very gently, evenly distributing the chicken through the sauce (don’t stir too much or the chicken  will shred into strings). Keep warm.

ASSEMBLE AND BAKE

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. Cut four large circles out of each sheet of puff pastry for a total of eight puff pastry circles, and place on the baking sheet, leaving an inch of space in between each circle.

4. Brush the tops of the puff pastry circles with the beaten egg, and bake in a preheated oven for 9 to 10 minutes, or until puffed and golden-brown on top.

5. Fill pie dishes with chicken-mushroom filling and top  each with a puff pastry circle.

Wintertime Farmers Markets

Look for fresh and local ingredients at the following locations. Find additional details at FarmFreshRI.org

Farm Fresh RI Winter Farmers Market
10 Sims Avenue, Providence
Saturdays through April 25, 9am-1pm

Mount Hope Farm Farmers Market
250 Metacom Avenue, Bristol
Saturdays, 10am-12:30pm, January - March 28

South Kingstown Farmers Market
Independence Square, URI Kingston
25 W. Independence Way, Kingston
Saturdays, 8:30am - 12:30pm

Pawtucket Farmers Market
Jordan’s Jungle
545 Pawtucket Avenue, Pawtucket
Fridays, 4:30pm-7:30pm

Tiverton Farmers Market
Tiverton Middle School Cafeteria
10 Quintal Drive, Tiverton
Sundays, 10am - 1:30pm, through April 26

Find more recipes at TheKitchenMcCabe.com