Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Chicken Pot Pie w/ Cheddar Herb Almond Crust

This evening I decided to conquer chicken pot pie so I created "Chicken Pot Pie w/ Cheddar Herb Almond Crust".  I didn't follow any particular recipe, I just made it up as I went.  It didn't just turn out great...it turned out absolutely WONDERFUL!  Even though I made it up as I went, I kind of had an idea of what I wanted to do based on traditional chicken pot pies I've made in the past.  I boiled boneless chicken breasts and used all fresh veggies but you could make it more quickly if you used frozen veggies and leftover chicken instead of starting completely from scratch.  The part I worried about most was thickening the "sauce" since I am not using flour.  I decided to give xanthum gum a try for the first time and boy am I glad I did!  All it took was 1 teaspoon, added gradually, to give the sauce the consistency I was looking for along with the addition of 1/4 cup of half-n-half to add the richness I wanted.  The sauce looked thick, rich and gorgeous.  I seasoned it with salt & pepper until it tasted the way I liked it.  I made my pot pie with only a top crust which is how I have always made them.  I had already planned to use an almond flour based crust but wanted it to have a little more flavor, so I added sharp cheddar cheese, Italian seasoning, sea salt and black pepper to the basic almond crust recipe.  This kicked it up a notch and made it more savory.  I can now scratch chicken pot pie off my wheat and grain free bucket list!  :-)  I am so excited to share this "comfort food recipe" with you and hope that you enjoy it just as much as we did.  I've snapped a few photos below for you to see as well as my recipe.  Enjoy!

Voila!
Fresh out of the oven
Take a peek inside
BOOM!
Check out how thick and rich the sauce is
This is what it looked like before going in the oven
Here is one more "before being baked" shot for perspective

Chicken Pot Pie w/ Cheddar Herb Almond Crust

INGREDIENTS:

Filling
2 cups diced cooked chicken breast
2 cups chicken broth (plus extra to use as necessary to adjust sauce thickness)
1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1/2 small onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
2 carrots, sliced thinly
1 cup fresh green beans cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup half-n-half
1/2 to 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Salt & Pepper, to taste  
1 teaspoon xanthum gum (to be added gradually)

Crust
2 cups almond flour
3 tablespoons "cold" butter, diced
1 egg (or 1/4 cup Egg Beaters)
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 to 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 - 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/2 - 1 teaspoon pepper, or to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Lightly spray/grease a 1-1/2 quart casserole dish and set aside.  In a medium saucepan, melt butter and saute celery and onion until tender; add chicken broth, carrots, green beans; cover and simmer until carrots and green beans are tender.  Add parsley, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste.  Bring broth and veggie mixture to a light boil/simmer while stirring in the xanthum gum 1/2 teaspoon at a time, whisking vigorously until well blended.  Sprinkle the next 1/2 teaspoon xanthum gum a little bit at a time, whisking until the broth begins to thicken.  Once it has reached the thickness you like, add the half-n-half and stir well.  Check seasoning (salt and pepper) and make any necessary adjustments.  Add chicken to the sauce and mix well.  Simmer on low for a few minutes to just to keep hot.  

In a medium bowl, add all crust ingredients and cut in with a pastry cutter until crumbly and all flour is moistened and cheese is pulverized into the mixture. Press dough together in a ball and place on a sheet of parchment paper and flatten out lightly into a circle shape (or the shape of the top of your casserole); cover with another piece of parchment paper and roll out to about 1/4 inch thickness to the size of your casserole dish.  Handle the dough minimally with your hands (you don't want to heat up or melt the butter in the dough, you want it to remain stiff).  Once dough is rolled out evenly and the size of your casserole dish, pour hot filling mixture into casserole dish.  Gently and carefully lift the dough and move it on top of the filling in the casserole (it is important to choose the right size casserole so your filling will be within an inch or so of the top when filled and the crust will fit and lay nicely on top).  If it cracks a little, gently press it back together.  You can use any leftover scraps of dough that you have left to build a crust around the edge of your casserole dish.  Put chicken pot pie in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes; lower oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake an additional 15-20 minutes until crust is golden brown and done (you can tell by touching the top of the crust). 

        

18 comments:

Tammy Wilson said...

Gotta try this!

Anonymous said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you! Looks delish and I cannot wait to try!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Thanks...it really satisfied that craving for comfort food -- as the weather gets colder it will be nice to have as a meal option. Hope you like it!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Thanks, Tammy. The cheddar in the crust really makes it good. Hope you like it.

Jan J. said...

This is absolutely beautiful and I know is delicious! I can't wait to make it and I already cooked chicken today and pulled it off the bone! My girls will be very happy about this.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Thanks, Jan. It really was good -- I will not want for a "good" chicken pot pie any more. I hope your girls enjoy it -- and you are smart to have the chicken cooked ahead of time -- it will make it much quicker to put together.

Jennypenny said...

This looks great! I was just thinking about this last week, wondering if a low carb chicken pot pie would taste any good. I am definitely trying this next week!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Thanks Jennypenny -- I honestly loved this one. I couldn't find exactly what I wanted so I just sort of made it up as I went...and it worked this time (not always though...lol). Let me know how you like it!

Anonymous said...

We had the chicken pot pie last night for dinner and my 20yo son gave me a high-five and said it was definitely a keeper....delicious comfort food!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Thanks! So glad your son liked it -- as the mother of three children -- I can tell you that any time your teenage or older children think you've done something great is awesome! :-)
Glad you enjoyed it!

unter der laterne said...

I should have looked at your photos again before I tackled putting the crust on top. You have a nice rim, did you do that top crust in 2 steps, circle first , then the rim. I made a mess of it, but it smells divine and is baking right now. Thank God that I have a super toaster oven , nice and large, saves me a fortune in electricity. I will let you know the outcome! Greetings Barbara from California.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Barbara! Yes, I actually did the circular top first and decided to use the extra "scraps" to build the rim part of the crust rather than throw it away. Even if the crust isn't perfect, it still tastes the same -- I just have an terrible obsession with trying to make everything perfect. LOL But the truth is, it doesn't have to be!!! I hope it turned out okay for you. I also think it would be easier to do in smaller individual ramekins or casseroles -- several smaller crusts would be easier for most people to handle (including me). Hope it turned out okay for you!

unter der laterne said...

My dish did not look as pretty as yours, but it was truly spectacular in taste. My husband and I did not just have one serving, frankly we did want to stop eating this. Mu husband warned me not to loose the recipe!
If I could I would give you an award! Thank you so much, I can not wait to serve it to my friends!
I enjoy reading your blog daily! You are truly gifted.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Thanks so much Barbara...I am thrilled that you and your husband enjoyed it! One other person that made this before told me that after they rolled the dough out, they refrigerated it for a bit to stiffen up and it made it easier for them to transfer it to the top of the casserole dish -- I may try that next time -- it makes sense. Thanks again for the kind comments! :-)

Anne said...

I made the chicken pot pie tonight, and my husband and I enjoyed it. However, my crust fell apart when I placed it on the casserole dish. Any suggestions to solve this problem.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Anne! Glad you liked it, but sorry you had problems placing the crust on top. I have been told that if you roll the crust out and then chill it a bit that it is much easier to transfer. It doesn't have to be absolutely perfect...but you don't want it falling apart like that either. I have had mine crack once and I moved it over in 2 sections...I need to try chilling it first before moving...handling it while rolling it out softens it a bit. I will try placing it on parchment paper on a totally flat baking sheet and see if I can sort of push it off over the casserole dish after it stiffens back up a bit in the fridge next time I make it to see if it can be more foolproof! Thanks for letting me know...I will try a new transfer technique next time I make it! :-)

Anne said...

Before I started dinner tonight, I read the previous comment about refrigerating the dough. I rolled out the dough on parchment paper and placed it in the refrigerator while I worked on the pot pie. I was thinking about doing a lattice the next time.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Anne! A lattice would probably work well. What size casserole did you use? I also think moving a smaller crust would be easier too...I wonder how individual pot pies (in ramekins) might work? I will definitely try a few different techniques when I make it again to see if I can make it easier to handle and move for everyone. Thanks for letting me know you had difficulty with transferring it -- I'm sorry about that. :-)