CHICKEN-TARRAGON POT PIE

CHICKEN-TARRAGON POT PIE image

Categories Chicken

Yield 8 people

Number Of Ingredients 21

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Ingredients

For the crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
14 tablespoons (1¾ sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 tablespoon cold vegetable shortening
Scant ½ teaspoon salt
Scant ½ teaspoon sugar
1 egg
For the filling:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup thinly sliced leeks
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
1 cup frozen baby green peas
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2½ cups chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 cups leftover roast chicken, cut into ½-inch chunks
Crust: combine flour, butter, shortening, salt and sugar in food processor. Pulse together just until the mixture is crumbly and butter is broken into small pieces. Pour 1/3 cup ice water into the machine, and pulse 3 or 4 times. Squeeze a little dough in your hand to see whether it clumps together and is evenly moist. If not, add another tablespoon of water, pulse 1 or 2 times more. Don't overmix that dough forms a ball.
Put dough on a large sheet plastic wrap. Lift ends of plastic to gather dough together inside. Press into a large disk, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate up to 2 days.

Steps:

3. Filling; melt 2 T butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add carrot, celery, leeks and tarragon, and cook, stirring, just until slightly softened (reduce the heat if necessary to prevent browning), about 3 minutes. Transfer cooked vegetables to a bowl, wipe out the skillet. 4. Melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter in skillet over medium heat. Whisk in flour, whisking, until the mixture bubbles and smells cooked. Do not let it brown. Whisk in 2 cups broth, and cook, whisking, 1 minute. Whisk in cream, and cook 2 or 3 minutes, just until thickened. Season to taste with S&P. If sauce is too thick, whisk in remaining broth. 5. Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Add cooked vegetables and peas, chicken and sauce to 8-ounce deep pie dish or other baking dish, mix gently, and taste for seasoning. 6. Flour a work surface. Remove dough from refrigerator, and cut in half. (Set aside half for another recipe.) Roll out remaining dough, turning and flouring often, and cut a shape approximately the size of your baking dish plus 1½ inches overlap all around. 7. Whisk egg in a small bowl. Brush onto rim of dish. Roll dough onto the rolling pin, and unroll over dish, so it rests evenly on top of filling. Press overlap onto the rim and against the outside of the dish, sealing tightly. Poke tip of knife through crust to create 3 vent holes near the center. Place on cookie sheet, and place in oven. 8. Bake 20 minutes, then reduce temperature to 375 degrees. Bake 15 to 20 minutes more, until crust is golden and filling is bubbling through vents. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.