Recipe: Spring Chicken Pot Pie

A delicious chicken pie stuffed with oddles of spring vegetables.  The light sauce is so tastey with paprika and thyme.  Everyone loved this dish and some even had second and third helpings. 

This wonderful dish was created by Good Things Catered which is a lovely lady who used to run a sucessful catering business and now blogs her recipes and menu's.  How lucky are we to have her share her great cooking!

SPRING CHICKEN POT PIE
from Good Things Catered

2 tsp olive oil
About 6 small boneless chicken thighs, trimmed
2 medium carrots, halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/4 large red onion, diced
1 leek, trimmed halved lengthwise and white/light green portion sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 lb. fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
6 button mushrooms, sliced
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 c. all purpose flour
2 c. low fat milk
juice of 1 small lemon
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp fresh parsley, chopped
garlic salt and pepper
1 c. fresh steamed peas
garlic salt and pepper
1/2 recipe pie dough

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

In large dutch oven over medium heat, add olive oil and bring up to almost smoking.  Meanwhile, slice chicken thighs into 3/4 inch strips.  Season chicken liberally with garlic salt and pepper and toss into dutch oven.  Cooking, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through; about 5-8 minutes depending on size.  Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

With remaining olive oil and chicken drippings still in pan, turn heat down to medium low and add carrots and red onion.  Adding a very small pinch of salt, stir to combine.  Cook until carrots just start to become tender, about 5 minutes, and then add leeks, asparagus and mushrooms.  Cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables have become tender crisp, about 10-12 minutes.  Remove from pan and set aside.

Add butter to pan and stir until completely melted.  Add flour to pan and stir well, scraping up brown bits from the bottom of pan and combining flour and butter (this is your roux).  Stirring constantly cook roux until uniform in texture and beginning to brown slightly, about 3 minutes. 

Slowly add milk 1/2 cup at a time into pan, stirring constantly and combining with the roux thoroughly before adding more (this is your bechamel).  Once all milk is added, cook while stirring and scraping bottom to make sure mixture does not burn.

Add lemon, paprika, thyme, parsley, salt and pepper to taste and cook while stirring until thickened (lift your spoon out of the mixture, drag a line across it horizontally and it should hold it's shape.), about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop strips of chicken into small pieces.

When bechamel is thickened, add chicken with any juices, cooked vegetables,and peas back to the pan.  Stir to combine well and place into a prepared souffle pan.  Top with pastry dough, wash with egg wash if desired, and place into oven.  Bake until pastry has started to brown slightly, about 20 minutes.  Remove from oven, let cool slightly and serve.

Printable Copy

Enjoy!

from the book "Fairy Tales"
by Hans Andersen
Illustrated by Kay Nielsen
1932 Garden City Publishing Company