Chicken Pot Pie

One of my favorite "comfort foods" is chicken pot pie. I've seen several recipes for it, but they all seemed more labor intensive than suits me. This recipe from Ina Garten is for Chicken Stew with Biscuits. It reminds me a lot of a good pot pie, but with a fresher flavor due to the parsley.

I prepared this omitting the peas and the whole small onions. I think you get plenty of onion flavor from the two cups added in the outset, plus I don't really care for the flavor of small onions. I also used frozen, sliced carrots instead of fresh. It cut back on prep time and I think it tasted great. I am sure you could substitute store bought biscuits from the refrigerator case, but the homemade biscuits are really yummy.

Chicken Stew With Biscuits

3 whole (6 split chicken breasts -- bone in, skin on)
3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 cups chicken stock -- preferably homemade
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups medium-diced carrots (4 carrots) -- blanched for 2 minutes
1 pkg frozen peas (2 cups)
1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

For the Biscuits
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 pound cold butter, unsalted -- diced
3/4 cup half and half
1/2 cup fresh parsley -- chopped
1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35-40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Cut the chickeninto large dice. You will have 4-6 cups of cubed chicken.

In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter andsaute the onions over med-low heat for 10-15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring until thick.

Add 2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and the heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken,carrots, peas, onions, and parsley. Mix well. Place the stew in a10x13x2 inch oval or rectangular baking dish. Place the baking dish on a sheet pan lined with parchment or wax paper.

Bake for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, make the biscuits. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt,and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddleattachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter isthe size of peas. Add the half and half and combine on low speed. Mixin the parsley.Dump the dough out on a well-floured board and, with a rolling pin, roll out to 3/8 inch thick. Cut out 12 circles with a 2 1/2 inch roundcutter.Remove the stew from the oven and arrange the biscuits on top of thefilling. Brush them with egg wash, and return the dish to the oven.

Bake for another 20-30 minutes, until the biscuits are brown and the stew is bubbly.To make this in advance, refrigerate the chicken stew and biscuits seperately Bake the stew for 25 minutes, then place the biscuits on top and bake for another 30 minutes until done.

From Barefoot Contessa: Family Style by Ina Garten, Clarkson Potter, 2002