Sunday 15 April 2018

Chicken Pot Pie - Or Hotdish Or Casserole?

I know what a pot pie is, but I'm not very sure about hotdish.  I'm pretty sure it's like a casserole, made with whatever you have hanging around in the freezer and/or pantry.  It's a Midwest USA dish, where I guess fresh produce isn't always available in the depths of winter?  Or maybe they just like the convenience of it.  This recipe was inspired by one for Chicken Pot Tot Hotdish in Molly Yeh's book Molly on the Range

Lovely IMK'er friend Mae from Mae's Food Blog sent me a link which tells us all about hotdish.  Check out the comments on my previous post (for potato friands) for the link.  The article even cites Molly Yeh as the expert on hotdish.  The funny thing is she is a transplant from Chicago and New York - Molly Yeh I mean.  And what a woman: a musician, cook, blogger, author, you name it.  And Mae is pretty damn fine too:=).    




ready for its potato topping


Recipe adapted by Sherry's Pickings:


Serves 6:


ingredients:


800g. chicken breast, diced

3 tbs butter

1 red onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, diced into bite-sized pieces

1 large stick of celery, finely chopped

a pinch of salt

5 level tbs plain flour - (I used an American spoon here btw)

3 cups (750 mLs) milk - I used normal and soy milk

1 cup (250 mLs) chicken stock OR use 1 cup of the chicken poaching water with 2 tsp of chicken stock powder

2 tsp grain mustard

black pepper, to taste

1/2 tsp dried herb(s) of your choice

2-3 tsp parsley paste or 2 tbs fresh, chopped parsley

1 cup (150g.) frozen peas, thawed in boiling water

either lots of frozen Potato Gems/Tater Tots to cover the dish perfectly OR use my potato friands that I posted previously - you know which one I prefer


Method:


Place the diced chicken in a medium saucepan and pour boiling water over.  Bring back to the boil and let it simmer gently for a couple of minutes till it turns opaque

Strain through a colander (but KEEP the water if you want to use that as your cup of stock), and put the chicken aside

Melt the butter in a large skillet on medium-high heat, and tip in the chopped veg. - onion, carrot, celery

Add the salt and cook away on a low heat for about 10 mins., stirring now and then till the veg. is getting tender

Sprinkle the flour evenly over the veg. and stir in

Cook out the flour for a few minutes

Now add half the milk and stir till it starts to thicken

Then add the other half of the milk and keep stirring

In goes the stock - and keep stirring 

Add the mustard, pepper and herbs

Stir in the peas and chicken

Check the seasoning

Pour the smooth and creamy chicken mixture into a large oval or rectangular baking dish, deep enough to hold the potatoes too

Cover it with the friands (or Gems/Tots)

Bake for about 25 mins. at 200C/400F till golden and bubbling



Notes:


Either buy chicken breasts, and poach them, then dice OR buy diced breasts like I did.  Yep cheeky but so easy and quick:=)

My enamel roasting dish is a 30 cm. (12 in) one - FYI




gather some ingredients 

(I did use grain mustard not mustard powder, shown here.)




fry your beautifully chopped veg. in butter

Get hubby to chop the carrots, like I did:=)  Mr P. is sooo useful. 




stir in the flour



see, getting thicker



smooth and creamy



here I am slicing my friands in half, lengthwise  


and covering the pot pie with them


and now to eat




my red potato and green pea doodle

17 comments:

  1. This looks like wonderful comfort food and very good for the coming weather which is going to be decidedly colder than it has been. I love the look of the potato mixture on top. I've never heard of this kind of a dish but it does look like a great way of combining leftover ingredients xx

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    Replies
    1. hi charlie
      how are you going? this is a lovely warming dish. and yep great for using up raggedy veg. left in your crisper and pantry:) cheers S

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  2. Mr P liked this pot pie a lot. So delicious. Mrs P even managed to use it in a pastry pie which was great too.

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    Replies
    1. oh hi there Mr P. where did you spring from? kind words indeed. x

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  3. Thank you so much Sherry!This recipe will be perfect when it finally gets cooler here in Sydney... :) Maddy

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  4. Mmm I love chicken pot pie!! It turned colder and very windy and I could imagine sitting down to a big serve of this :D

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    Replies
    1. Me too! I put the rest of the filling into a proper pie 🥧. So yum. :)

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  5. Thanks so much for the kind words! Such a comfort on a depressing icy April day. Spring just won't get going here.

    Your chicken pot pie sounds wonderful. Just too wonderful to be an upper-Midwest type of hotdish! And one of these days I will definitely have to look at that book by Molly Yeh.

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi Mae
      i hope you get some warm weather soon. we are still in the throes of summer really even tho it is mid autumn now. we are in the 30s still! soooo warm. cheers S x

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  6. Mmmmm, yum! The chicken filling sounds delicious, but I'm over the moon about the potato friends. I'd toast the cut side under the broiler and enjoy them as a side instead of a topping.

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    Replies
    1. hi Dee
      yes they are actually a side dish, but i am using them here for a covering - just a bit of a lark:) cheers S x

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    2. It's always fun to change things up a bit.

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    3. for sure! change is a marvellous thing - sometimes:)

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    4. I reckon this is a hot dish alright! Perfect for the FINALLY changing weather Sherry.

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    5. Hi Jem
      Can you believe? It’s actually a bit cool today. Yay! Off to lunch for hubby’s birthday. A fun day. Enjoy the weather. Xx

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  7. It looks very tasty !!
    Happy May !

    ReplyDelete

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