Tonight’s dinner brought to you by a comfort food fantasy. It’s been a little cooler here and overcast, so less incentive to get out early. Bella found this recipe and we adapted it for our kitchen:
Heat oven to 240C.
Boil about 4 cups water with 2 chopped carrots, a half bunch of chopped celery stalks, 3 chopped cloves of garlic, 1 chopped shallot, 2 chicken breasts in large pieces, salt, pepper, fresh rosemary and parsley, and 1 bouillon cube.
(I tried to buy a whole chicken from the macelleria, but a whole bird includes head and feet, and when I asked the butcher if he could cut them off for me, he said just buy the breasts! Why mess with the bones and feathers too? Uh… ok!)
After the chicken turns white, remove it and bake it in a hot oven, covered in olive oil, sea salt & pepper. Let the stock simmer covered until it cooks down to about 1 2/3 cups of liquid.
Meanwhile, make the pastry with 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup white flour, 1/3 cold butter and a couple tablespoons of ice water. Roll into a ball and let rest.
Saute 1 chopped red onion in 1 stick of butter until the onion is soft and turning translucent, about 10 minutes. Add 1/4 c flour and continue cooking over low heat, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Add the hot stock and simmer for another minute. Add 4 teaspoons heavy cream and stir together.
When the chicken is done, remove from oven and cute into smaller pieces, and place into a small casserole dish. Add the vegetables from the stock, then add the cream sauce and mix lightly together. Shape the pastry to cover the dish and place on top. Brush with beaten egg thinned with a tablespoon of water. Make 3 slits into the top of the pie and place into the oven at 190C. Bake for one hour.
I think I may have used twice as much butter in the pastry when trying to convert cups and tablespoons to grams … oops! It was still the best pot pie we’ve ever had!
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