Chicken pot pie

I love chicken pot pie. (I really love the biscuit topping on chicken pot pie the most.)

This week, I somehow ended up roasting a chicken for myself. I wanted to make something for the Kitchen Co-op to get back on track after spring break, but it was quite accidental. Using these delicious guidelines from Chez Pim, with a compound sage butter* I made in the Fall, I popped my bird in the oven Monday night. And then I didn’t really know what to do with it (I did not actually want to eat a whole chicken by myself, although nibbling the oysters was delightful), so I put it in the fridge.

On Tuesday night, I was inspired: chicken pie! Chicken pie is so basic, I didn’t really need a recipe, though that could be because I watched my mom make it once every two weeks (?) as a teenager and then followed her lead myself when it was my turn to make dinner. It’s a really good recipe to use up leftover turkey (and any other vegetables that might be lurking). Below are the general, very flexible steps I followed.

Chicken Potpie
(serves 4, 8X8″ 2qt pyrex)

About 1/2 roasted chicken, shredded into bite-size pieces (approx 2 cups)
Equal amount mixed vegetables (this time, I used some roasted onion and zucchini; frozen peas and corn and carrots also work )

Make about 2 cups bechamel sauce
(Melt about 3 Tbsp butter over medium heat, and add equal amount flour to make a roux; I used some of the sage butter. Cook flour and butter mix until it has moved through loose stage and browned (5-7 min?). Add about 2 cups milk and bring to a boil while whisking vigorously. Simmer until sauce thickens to desired viscosity.) Add desired flavoring, in this case salt and pepper to taste, about 1tsp thyme.

Combine chicken, vegetables and bechamel. Pour into 2qt casserole dish.

The topping is where things get complicated. In my younger years under my mother’s tutelage, I would make a more batter-y biscuit topping that would pour over the filling. And it was good. In subsequent recipe-perusing, I have seen some fancy puff pastry topping, made in individual ramekins (hi, Silver Palate New Basics!) which make me want more ramekins. However, recently I have become very fond of the Cook’s Illustrated Best Recipes Fluffy Biscuits so I made them using the last of the sage butter (it’s almost Spring! there’ll be fresh sage soon!). They are a basic, super-easy buttermilk biscuit with a lovely crusty outside and a tender inside. I thought I would have enough dough to make a couple just-biscuits for breakfast (this turned into a leisurely 3 day project), but one recipe worked perfectly for an 8×8 pyrex.**

400F for 25-30 minutes, until the biscuit topping is golden-brown and cooked through the bottom.

*The sage butter is part of my summer-preservation project. Wash and dry about 1/2 c. of fresh sage leaves. Combine in food processor with 2 sticks butter until sage is finely chopped and evenly distributed. Freeze until needed. I think this would make a delicious complement to pasta (ravioli, tortellini) browned, but I never quite got around to it. Here, it doesn’t overwhelm the other flavors but adds a nice note and pretty color to the biscuit.
**Best Recipes does have a pot pie recipe using these biscuits that recommends rolling the dough and cutting out rounds. I went with hand-formed chunks closer to the recipe for biscuits straight up. The topping was more “rustic” this way (and easier), and I got more crunchy surface area.