Yes, I know it is blazing hot outside, but it was all I could think to make. You see, my friend just had a baby, and when people have babies I bring them food. Reason being, the last thing anyone wants to do when they bring a baby home is cook. I wanted to make something that was casserole-ish, that was easy to re-heat, and I could make in a short amount of time. I also was hoping to double up the recipe so I would have dinner for my family too.
While I made Brian watch cooking shows with me this past weekend (don’t feel too bad for him there is only so much baseball, car racing, and Holmes on Homes re-runs a girl can withstand), I saw a great recipe for a chicken pot pie with crumble topping on America’s Test Kitchen. I have made chicken pot pie in the past, and it usually involves home made pastry crust, which I have yet to master, and it comes out soggy and doesn’t reheat well. I decided that this would be the perfect dinner to bring my friend.
Since, America’s Test Kitchen requires a paid membership to their web-site for certain recipes, and I didn’t DVR the episode, I tried to make it from memory so bear with me on measurements and directions.
Filling:
4 or 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts and/or thighs
3 cups low-sodium chicken stock
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion chopped
3 medium carrots peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1 small package mushrooms sliced (I used baby portabella)
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp tomato paste
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk
1 small bunch fresh parsley chopped
1 cup frozen peas
Crumble Topping
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1/3 cup parmesan cheese grated
1 stick unsalted butter cut into small cubes
1/2 cup – 3/4 cup whole milk (ATK used cream, but I didn’t have any)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and parmasen cheese in a large bowl. Sprinkle butter pieces over top of flour. Using fingers, rub butter into flour mixture until it looks like coarse cornmeal. Add milk and stir until just combined. Crumble mixture onto parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake until starting to brown but not completely baked through. About 10 to 13 minutes. Set aside.
In a large pot with a lid, bring chicken and broth to simmer over medium to medium high heat and simmer the chicken until cooked through. About 10-12 minutes.
Transfer cooked chicken to large bowl. Strain broth through a fine strainer and reserve in another bowl. In same large pot as you cooked chicken, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat, and add onion, carrots, celery, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 5 to 7 minutes.
While vegetables are cooking, cut chicken into small bite-size pieces. Transfer cooked vegetables to bowl with chicken; set aside. Heat remaining tablespoon oil in empty pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add mushrooms; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms have released juices, about 5 minutes. Remove cover and stir in soy sauce and tomato paste. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until liquid has evaporated, and mushrooms are well browned. About 5 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to bowl with chicken and vegetables. Set aside.
In empty pot (same pot you have used the whole time) over medium heat, melt butter. When butter is melted, stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Slowly whisk in reserved chicken broth and milk. Bring mixture to a simmer until sauce thickens. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and stir in parsley.
Transfer all reserved chicken, vegetables, mushrooms, and peas to pot and combine well.
Pour mixture into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Scatter crumble topping evenly over filling. Bake until filling is bubbling and topping is well browned. This should take about 12-15 minutes.
Here is the picture my friend sent me after her family had eaten the pot pie. I guess they liked it!
