I promised, now that I have 4 French White Ramekins, that I would give out my Pesto Chicken Pot Pie Recipe. Though this can be made in the Grab-it bowls (P-150-B), it seems to work better in the Ramekins (F-16-B). I think this is because the Grab-it Bowls are 550 ml, while the French White Ramekins are 500 ml.
I will admit this recipe will sound a little daunting and it does seem like a lot to take on all at once, however, you can make the filling and the pastry ahead of time and store then in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
This crust is slightly different than the Pâte Brisée I use for sweet pies (Apple, Lemon Meringue and Cherry). For starters, it contains Spelt Flour... I like Spelt in savory applications because it lends a nutty flavor like whole wheat, but without the "sweetness" whole wheat usually imparts. The Second difference is the lack of sugar... I think that one is a given, but there is also more salt (an extra 1/2 tsp) The third and final difference, is the amount of butter has changed. I like more butter with my sweet pies than I do with savory pies, thus this recipe contains 4 TB (2 oz) less.
This is the perfect mean when the weather is foul...
4 oz Celery, Chopped
4 oz Carrot, Chopped
4 oz Onion, Chopped
Olive Oil
1/2 cup AP Flour
3 1/2 cups Chicken Stock
3 TB Pesto
Kosher Salt
Cracked Black Pepper
3 oz Frozen Peas, Still frozen
Savory Pâte Brisée (see Below)
4 500ml CorningWare French White Ramekins (P-16-B)
Heat oil (about 1 TB) in a large skillet.
Add chicken and brown lightly.
Remove chicken to a bowl.
Add 1-2 TB more Olive oil then add Celery, Carrot and Onion, sauteing the Vegetables until almost tender.
Sprinkle the vegetables with 1/2 cup flour.
Stir until the vegetables are well coated and continue cooking until the flour begins to smell nutty.
Stir in the Chicken Stock and bring to a simmer for about 10 minutes. (Until the gravy begins to thicken)
Add the Chicken and continue simmering for an additional 5 minutes.
Stir in the Pesto, season with Kosher Salt and Cracked Pepper, then remove the skillet from the heat.
Allow to cool while you mix up the Pâte Brisée (Don't worry about the Peas yet)
2 cups (8.5 oz) (240g) AP Flour
1 cup (3.5 oz) (100g) Cake Flour
1 tsp Kosher salt
Approximately 1/3 - 1/2 cup (3-4 oz) (100-125ml) very cold water
Whisk the Flours and Salt together very lightly.
Add sliced Unsalted Butter and toss briefly to coat them.
Work the butter through the flour with your finger tips, sort of rubbing the flour into the butter or use a pastry cutter.
Add the ice-cold water starting with 1/3 cup (3 oz) (100ml) and mix very fast with your hand just enough that the dough coheres.
If it does not, add more water 1 TB at a time... You want it to just barely hold together.
Wrap in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. (Spelt is lower in gluten, so the dough does not need to relax as long as regular Pate Brisee would)
Now the fun part, you are going to divide each piece into 2/3 & 1/3 pieces. The 1/3 piece is for the top and the 2/3 piece is to line the CorningWare Ramekin.
Place all the "top" pieces back into the refrigerator and begin rolling the dough to line the ramekins.
Roll each "bottom" piece into a 10-11 inch circle.
Fit the dough down into the ramekin making sure to leave the over hang.
Once all the ramekins have been lined, fill them with the cooled filling and preheat the oven to 400 F degrees.
Now roll each of the "tops" into a 6 inch round.
Place on top and begin rolling the dough over and in...
(you want the seam inside the ramekin to ensure there is no spillage while baking)
Crimp the edges....
Cut vent holes.
Place on the bottom rack of the preheated oven and back for 35 minutes, or until the tops are nicely browned.
Remove form the oven and place on a rack, allowing to cool for about 15 minutes.
Then, my favorite part, Dig IN!!! YUM!
The perfect meal when it's cold, wet and dreary outside.
Where is your Corningware?
~~
I will admit this recipe will sound a little daunting and it does seem like a lot to take on all at once, however, you can make the filling and the pastry ahead of time and store then in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
This crust is slightly different than the Pâte Brisée I use for sweet pies (Apple, Lemon Meringue and Cherry). For starters, it contains Spelt Flour... I like Spelt in savory applications because it lends a nutty flavor like whole wheat, but without the "sweetness" whole wheat usually imparts. The Second difference is the lack of sugar... I think that one is a given, but there is also more salt (an extra 1/2 tsp) The third and final difference, is the amount of butter has changed. I like more butter with my sweet pies than I do with savory pies, thus this recipe contains 4 TB (2 oz) less.
This is the perfect mean when the weather is foul...
Pesto Chicken Pot Pie
Pesto Chicken Filling:
1.25 lbs Chicken Breasts, Cubed4 oz Celery, Chopped
4 oz Carrot, Chopped
4 oz Onion, Chopped
Olive Oil
1/2 cup AP Flour
3 1/2 cups Chicken Stock
3 TB Pesto
Kosher Salt
Cracked Black Pepper
3 oz Frozen Peas, Still frozen
Savory Pâte Brisée (see Below)
4 500ml CorningWare French White Ramekins (P-16-B)
Heat oil (about 1 TB) in a large skillet.
Add chicken and brown lightly.
Remove chicken to a bowl.
Add 1-2 TB more Olive oil then add Celery, Carrot and Onion, sauteing the Vegetables until almost tender.
Sprinkle the vegetables with 1/2 cup flour.
Stir until the vegetables are well coated and continue cooking until the flour begins to smell nutty.
Stir in the Chicken Stock and bring to a simmer for about 10 minutes. (Until the gravy begins to thicken)
Add the Chicken and continue simmering for an additional 5 minutes.
Stir in the Pesto, season with Kosher Salt and Cracked Pepper, then remove the skillet from the heat.
Allow to cool while you mix up the Pâte Brisée (Don't worry about the Peas yet)
Savory Pâte Brisée:
6 oz Unsalted butter, VERY cold, and cut into very thin slices2 cups (8.5 oz) (240g) AP Flour
1 cup (3.5 oz) (100g) Cake Flour
1 tsp Kosher salt
Approximately 1/3 - 1/2 cup (3-4 oz) (100-125ml) very cold water
Whisk the Flours and Salt together very lightly.
Add sliced Unsalted Butter and toss briefly to coat them.
Work the butter through the flour with your finger tips, sort of rubbing the flour into the butter or use a pastry cutter.
Add the ice-cold water starting with 1/3 cup (3 oz) (100ml) and mix very fast with your hand just enough that the dough coheres.
If it does not, add more water 1 TB at a time... You want it to just barely hold together.
Wrap in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. (Spelt is lower in gluten, so the dough does not need to relax as long as regular Pate Brisee would)
OK, Back to the Filling......
It should be cool now, so go ahead and stir in the frozen peas (this will keep them from getting too mushy when baking)
Back to the Pâte Brisée now.....
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide into 4 pieces.Now the fun part, you are going to divide each piece into 2/3 & 1/3 pieces. The 1/3 piece is for the top and the 2/3 piece is to line the CorningWare Ramekin.
Place all the "top" pieces back into the refrigerator and begin rolling the dough to line the ramekins.
Roll each "bottom" piece into a 10-11 inch circle.
Fit the dough down into the ramekin making sure to leave the over hang.
Once all the ramekins have been lined, fill them with the cooled filling and preheat the oven to 400 F degrees.
Now roll each of the "tops" into a 6 inch round.
Place on top and begin rolling the dough over and in...
(you want the seam inside the ramekin to ensure there is no spillage while baking)
Crimp the edges....
Cut vent holes.
Place on the bottom rack of the preheated oven and back for 35 minutes, or until the tops are nicely browned.
Remove form the oven and place on a rack, allowing to cool for about 15 minutes.
Then, my favorite part, Dig IN!!! YUM!
The perfect meal when it's cold, wet and dreary outside.
Where is your Corningware?
~~
Looks fantastic and I have some pesto in the fridge. I think I will stick with a regular crust, hubby would probably be put off by the spelt. I just always felt like the filling needed something to make it special, I was thinking of white wine, but now I will try the pesto. Thanks from hubby and I both.
ReplyDeleteThat is fabulous.
ReplyDeleteI've been looking for a better chicken pot pie recipe and this works for me.
I might substitute my own whole wheat pastry crust but I'll try yours first.
It's the filling I really need practice with. I've made pies twice and both times the filling has been too dry with not enough gravy like a pot pie should have. I make my own pesto so this is extra wonderful.
I'm so glad you're including some recipes here since you seem to have abandoned your other Culinary Alchemy blog.
I finally had to abandon Culinary Alchemy... Well, not completely, since it's still out there and viable. It just became too much work to maintain both blogs simultaneously. I tried for a while, but finally gave up. Now that I am spending 10 hours a day baking in the shop, even CorningWare411 is only getting sporadic posts.
DeleteIt's primarily the photos that are the issue (that was always the most time consuming part - photo editing) The step by step photography was always important to me as a help for people who might be trying something completely new, but it was such a beast of a project every time. I may need to rethink that whole concept. LOL
Good luck with the Pesto Chicken pot pies! I hope you LOVE them. Homemade Pesto is AWESOME!