I find that winter is a time that I crave comfort food, and chicken pot pie is classic comfort food. The flaky, buttery crust is the perfect foil for the rich, creamy filling. Here, butternut squash, carrots, and celery or peas join chicken breast in a filling that is both flavorful and substantial. Since I have gone to the trouble of making pie pastry, and since the recipe only uses about 2/3 of the pastry, I like to make a little berry pie with the scraps. It brings a taste of summer into these dark winter days and makes this dinner the epitome of winter comfort.
I am including my recipe for gluten free pie pastry, but if you don’t have to worry about gluten, go ahead and make it with your favorite pie pastry recipe.
For the filling:
- 2 Tablespoons oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
Place the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions and salt and stir to coat. Cook, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes until the onion is tender. Add the garlic and stir to combine. Cook about 30 seconds.
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut in coins
- 1 smallish butternut squash, peeled and cut in cubes
- 3 stalks, sliced across the ribs OR 1 cup frozen green peas
Add to the onion mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently.
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon cold water
- 1 cup cream
- 1 cup milk
Whisk together the cornstarch and water. Stir the cream and milk into the vegetables and bring to a simmer. Drizzle the cornstarch mixture into the cream and cook, stirring frequently, until the cream thickens. This will take a couple of minutes.
- 2 large chicken breasts, cubed into 1-inch pieces
Stir into the vegetable mixture and return the cream to a simmer. Pour into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish and set aside.
Gluten-free Pie Pastry (make your own favorite 2 crust pie pastry recipe if you don’t have to worry about gluten)
- 2 1/2 cups/312 grams gluten free flour blend (I will post mine soon, but for now, choose a blend that has a gritty flour such as rice, sorghum, or millet as the first ingredient)
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (if your blend does not include xanthan gum)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 12 Tablespoons cold salted butter
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
Whisk the flour, xanthan gum, and salt together in a large bowl. Cut the butter into 1/4-inch pieces and rub it into the flour blend until it is uniformly damp and there are no large pieces of butter left. Stir in the Greek yogurt until the mixture is a uniform dough. Divide it into a 2/3 piece and a 1/3 piece. Roll the 2/3 piece into a log and flatten into a rectangular shape. Flour a pizza peel or rimless baking sheet and place the dough on it. Roll it into a rectangle slightly larger than your 9 x 13-inch pan. Make sure the dough is not sticking to the peel or baking sheet by sliding a spatula or bench scraper between the dough and the rolling surface. Place the peel or pan over the prepared filling and carefully jerk the peel out from under the dough so that it falls into place. This dough is not elastic and will tear if it is folded too much.
Now back to everyone…
If you haven’t already, lay the rectangular sheet of pie pastry on top of the filling. Crimp the edges and cut vents into the top of the pastry. Bake for 30 minutes until the filling is bubbling through the vents. Cool slightly (less than 5 minutes) before serving.
Bonus Berry Pie
- 1 pound frozen berry blend
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 lemon, zested
- 1 pinch salt
- 2/3 cup good jam
Toss together the berries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, and salt in a bowl. Roll the remaining pie pastry into a 15-inch circle. Spread the jam into the center of the pastry circle. Mound the fruit on top of the jam. Fold the pastry edges up and over the fruit. Place the pie in a baking dish or on a baking sheet. Bake for 30-minutes until the fruit filling is bubbly. Cool slightly before serving, with ice cream if you’re lucky!
