Chicken Pot Pie

mycookinghut November 21, 2011
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I love rustic comfort food during winter. Though it’s depressing to see the night falls before 5pm, I welcome the idea of snuggling up comfortably under a throw in front of the TV, tuned to my favourite channel and enjoy a warm meal. A lot of times, I like to make soup, such as my all time favourite French onion soup or a super easy butter squash soup. There are also those days whenI want to indulge myself with a yummy stew like boeuf bourguignon or even coq au vin. These are simple humble foods that I will never say no.

I remember those days when I was young, my aunt came to visit us, she always brought some super delicious chicken pot pies. I fell in love with the crispy and buttery pastry, with rich and creamy filing that gave me satisfaction after eating it. During those days when I had limited knowledge in cooking, this kind of food could only be purchased at some shops that sell pastries and sweets in big cities. Thus, for a kid who was brought up in a small town, chicken pot pie was the kind of food that I treated like a treasure and ate with appreciation.

Anything related to pastry  wasn’t something very common for me as I was brought up in a family where rice, noodles, seafood and spices are my best friends. But, I think I am very lucky to have my mom who is very passionate in cooking. She grew up learning how to cook through her mom. Eventually, she gained more skills by learning through books and friends. She even attended some professional cooking classes to advance her skills and to gain further knowledge in cooking!

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I have grown up to have the same passion in cooking – making chicken pot pie for myself isn’t something impossible anymore! I am a very much self-taught cook. A lot of the dishes that I make are either passed down from my family or learnt from books or even something that I put together based on my travel inspirations or even dishes that I tasted at restaurants. The ingredients that I put together in this recipe are those that I think will make a satifying dish. I hope you will like it!

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Chicken Pot Pie

Yield: 4 persons

Ingredients:

1 tbsp butter
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 carrot, peeled and diced
250g chicken breast, cut into chunks
100g fresh or frozen peas
120ml double cream
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
a small handful of tarragon, chopped
250g all-butter ready rolled puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten

Method:

1. In a pan over medium heat, put the butter, add the onion and carrot. Cook for 7-8 minutes or until the carrot and onion are soft. Add the chicken pieces, stir and cook for about 10 minutes until they turn opaque.

2. Add the peas and double cream, stir to combine. Bring to the boil. Then, sprinkle over the chopped tarragon. Stir to mix. Remove from the heat and set aside.

3. Preheat the oven at 180°C. On a lightly floured surface, lay out the puff pastry and cut round discs. Make sure they are slightly bigger than the size of the ramekins or individual ovenproof bowls that you use.

4. Divide the cooked chicken filling between the ramekins or individual ovenproof bowls. Top the pastry rounds and use your fingertips to press against the edges to seal or use a fork to crimp the edges to seal. Brush pastry with beaten egg and bake for about 20 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden brown.