Eileen Goldfinger’s chicken pot pie. Blogfinger.net. Eileen photo©
Ingredients:
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
3-5 tablespoons olive oil
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 tablespoons of butter or margerine
2 medium sized onions cubed
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup fat free half and half
4 carrots peeled and diced
1 10 ounce package frozen peas
1 small package of small whole onions
2 packages of frozen puff pastry
32 ounce box unsalted chicken stock
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Chicken:
Place chicken on baking sheet. Sprinkle them on both sides with saltand black pepper and rub them with olive oil. Bake them for 35 minutes or until they are baked through. Half way through turn chicken parts over and finish baking. Remove from oven and set aside. When chicken is cool cut it in bit sized pieces.
Filling:
In a large Dutch oven melt butter and saute onions and carrots for 15 minutes. Add flour and cook over low heat , stirring constantly for 2 minutes. Slowly add the chicken stock to the pot. Simmer over low heat until stirring until sauce becomes thick. Add 1.2 teaspoon of salt , 1.2 teaspoon black pepper and fat free half and half. Add the chicken, peas, whole onions and parsley. Mix well.
Assembling:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
You will need two 9-inch pie plates.
Roll out a sheet of pastry on a floured surface , one for each pie plate. Place in plate and press pastry into plate. Trim off excess pastry. Prick the pastry thoroughly with a fork. P lace aluminum foil onto the surface of the pastry. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and remove foil.
Divide filling in half and place in each pastry lined plate. Roll out two more pastry sheets on floured surface. Place one on top of each filled pie plate. Pinch the edges of the dough to make it stick and seal all around the plate. To make a lattice top, cut top pastry into long strips and weave in and out on top of the filled pie plate . In either case brush the top pastry with an egg wash (one egg whisked in a small bowl) and sprinkle with sea salt.
Place pies on baking sheets in a 375 degree oven for 1 hour or until the top crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
Note: Don’t bother the cook while she is timing the pie:
PALAST ORCHESTER and MAX RAABE: “As Time Goes By.”