Chicken Pot Pies: A Comforting Classic and The Origins
Nothing like a good Chicken Pot Pie on a cold winter day. This comfort food classic is perfect for warming up your family on a chilly night. Not only is it tasty, but it’s also really easy to make!
The origins of chicken pot pie and its popularity today
It can be traced back to medieval England. At that time, pot pies were made with various meat and vegetables and served as a hearty main course.
The modern-day version was first popularized in the United States during the early 20th century. It is thought that this dish was created when someone combined a leftover turkey carcass with vegetables and a thick gravy sauce to create an easy one-dish meal for cold winter nights.
Today it is typically made with either white or dark meat from the chicken, mushrooms, carrots, peas, and onions cooked in a cream sauce baked into a flaky pastry crust. It’s usually served with a side of cranberry sauce or applesauce for extra flavor.
So if you’re looking for a comforting and easy-to-make meal, give this dish a try! It’s perfect for warming up your family on a chilly night.
The ingredients that make up this classic comfort food
Ingredients:
One rotisserie or roasted chicken, skin removed and shredded
Two tablespoons of olive oil
One small onion, chopped
Three carrots, peeled and diced
Six ounces of baby Bella mushrooms, sliced
Two cups frozen peas
One cup of chicken stock
One cup whole milk or half and half
Two tablespoons cornstarch
Five tablespoons unsalted butter, divided into four tablespoons and one tablespoon cubes (or use vegan butter if desired)
Salt to taste
Oné and a half cups all-purpose flour
Two teaspoons of baking powder
Half teaspoon salt
Six tablespoons cold butter, cut into small cubes
Three-quarters cup ice water
How to make chicken pot pie from scratch
To start, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Next, heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and carrots and cook until softened, about five minutes. Add mushrooms and continue cooking for an additional three minutes until soft (if you use regular mushrooms rather than baby Bella, you can cook them longer).
Remove vegetables from heat to cool before transferring everything to a pie plate or baking dish. Stir in shredded chicken and frozen peas until evenly distributed throughout the pot pie filling mixture.
In another saucepan over medium-low heat, combine four tablespoons of butter with cornstarch until smooth. Slowly whisk in chicken stock and milk or half-and-half until fully incorporated into the sauce mixture (it should be thickened by now).
Pour this overtop of your prepared filling mixture, then cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit before removing from the heat to cool slightly.
Variations on the traditional recipe
If you want to make your filling mixture more flavorful or have some dietary restrictions, try these variations on the traditional recipe:
For a deeper flavor, replace half of the milk with heavy cream. This will give it an even richer taste! Using whole milk instead of half-and-half, add two cups and one tablespoon of cornstarch.
Replace butter with vegan butter to make the recipe dairy-free.
For added sweetness, stir into the filling mixture in one cup of cooked and mashed sweet potatoes. This will add a subtle flavor and nutrients like potassium and vitamin A.
Add one teaspoon of dried thyme leaves or rosemary needles to the filling for an extra aromatic touch.
Replace all-purpose flour with whole wheat pastry or spelled flour to make your crust more nutritious and hearty! You can also replace some of the butter with olive oil if desired, but this will change its texture slightly, so keep that in mind when making substitutions.
I know what you’re thinking. It’s summer, and you don’t want to think about pot pies. But trust me, this recipe is worth breaking out of your oven on a hot day. Ina Garten’s chicken pot pie is creamy, comforting, and perfect for a family dinner. Plus, it can easily be made ahead of time, so it’s the ideal dish for a busy weeknight.
Whether you’re looking for an easy weeknight meal or something special to warm up your winter nights, this pot pie is sure to please. Give it a try!
What’s your favorite comfort food? Let us know in the comments.
