Recipe: Chicken Pot Pie

Weeknight dinners can be tough to get on the table… and pricey. So Shahir came up with four delicious ways to make the most of your store-bought roasted chicken leftovers; Chicken Sesame Cashew Stir-Fry, Italian Cobb Salad, Chicken Dumplings, and the age-old classic, Chicken Pot Pie. A comfort-food favourite, this dish is full of veggies, lots of protein and topped with store-bought pastry — because who doesn’t love puff pastry? All you need from the chicken is a thigh, a leg and two wings. The secret to getting it on the table faster is to blanch the potatoes and carrots to save you up to 15 minutes of cook time, and you’ll have a satisfying dinner ASAP.

Ingredients

• 1 chicken thigh, 1 chicken leg, 2 chicken wings, (From store-bought roasted chicken)
• 1 Yukon Gold potato, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• ½ can of cannellini beans (270ml), drained and rinsed
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup water or chicken stock
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp fresh tarragon, chopped
• 1 sheet puff pastry
• 1 egg + 1 tsp water, whisked
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400F.

Defrost puff pastry according to package instructions.

Remove skin from chicken and meat off of the bones and chop into bite sized pieces, add to a large mixing bowl and set aside. Next, take your potato, celery, carrot and dice them into bite sized pieces (1 cm cubes). To a pot of boiling water, add potatoes, celery and carrot and cook for 5 minutes until they are still firm but fork tender. Drain vegetables and transfer to bowl with chicken, adding peas, beans, salt and pepper.

Mince garlic and add to a large saucepan over medium heat with 1 tbsp of butter. Sautée for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Next add the milk, stock/water and heat until simmering. To a small heat proof medium bowl or measuring cup add 2 tbsp all purpose flour, and about ½ cup of hot milk mixture. Whisk until no lumps remain. Add mixture back to saucepan and whisk constantly until it thickens to the consistency of a cream sauce, about 8-12 minutes. Stir in Dijon mustard, season with salt and pepper and add the chopped tarragon. Pour over top of chicken and vegetables and stir so everything is coated in sauce.

Transfer mixture to four, 9 oz ramekins. Roll out your puff pastry, cut into 4 equal pieces and place on top of ramekin, press the overhang down to seal. Brush puff pastry with egg mixture and transfer to the oven. Bake at 400F for 35-40 minutes or until crust is golden brown and flakey.