Ingredients: |
Ingredients: PASTRY
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. salt
1 cup shortening, chilled
4 to 5 tbsp. ice water
FILLING
4 chicken breasts with skin attached, split
2 garlic cloves, halved
3 celery stalks with leaves, quartered
2 carrots, cut into chunks
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 tbsp. unsalted butter
¼ cup +2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
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Directions: |
Directions:PASTRY: in a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal. One tablespoon at a time, add the ice water, mixing until the pastry forms a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
FILLING: put the chicken breasts in a large pot along with the garlic, celery, carrots, onions, and salt and pepper to taste. Add enough water to cover. Bring the water to a simmer over high heat. Turn the heat to moderately low and simmer until the chicken is just tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
Using tongs, remove the chicken from the stock and allow it to cool. Increase the heat under the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Let the stock boil to concentrate the flavors.
Remove and discard the chicken skin and bones and shred the chicken meat or cut into bite-size pieces. Cover to prevent drying out. Strain the chicken stock and discard the solids. Reserve 4 cups of stock; save the remainder for another use.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter over moderate heat. Add the flour and stir to blend completely. Cook the roux, stirring constantly, over moderate heat for 3 minutes without letting it color. Add the hot chicken stock and stir until the sauce is well combined. Simmer until slightly thickened about 5 minutes, and set aside. Roll out the pastry and trim it to fit into a shallow 3 quart oval or oblong casserole dish.
In the large saucepan, combine the sauce with the shredded chicken and season with salt and pepper to taste. (I also like to add a small bag of peas to the stew.) Pour the mixture into the pastry-lined dish.
Roll out the remaining pastry and cut it into ½-inch wide strips. Cover the pie with pastry strips, leaving them into a lattice fashion. Trim and crimp the edges.
Place the pie on the baking sheet and bake in the center of the oven at 350° for 45 to 55 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown. Let the pie stand for about 10 minutes before serving.
I have made this chicken pie many times, but to be honest I only made the pastry from scratch once. The rest of the time I use store-bought: it’s almost as good. The chicken stew recipe also makes a wonderful stew for Chicken and Dumplings. Just leave the chicken stew in the large sauce pan and either use Mom's dumplings recipe or Bisquick’s. |
This recipe for CHICKEN PIE From Mary Emmerling’s American Country Cooking is from