The ultimate comfort food family meal: Homemade Chicken Pot Pie! Made entirely from scratch (NO condensed cream soups!), with way less butter, using milk instead of cream and full of healthy vegetables.
Cook vegetables and chicken: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with salt and boil the diced potato, carrot, celery and chicken until tender, about 8-10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Make the roux: In the meantime, melt the butter in a deep, wide skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened WITHOUT browning. Whisk in the flour and cook for one minute, whisking constantly. Pour in the chicken stock and milk, whisking carefully so no lumps can form.
Cook the filling: Season the filling with salt, thyme and black pepper. Simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.
Finish the filling: Stir the potato mixture, chicken breast, peas and corn into the filling. Set aside to cool completely before adding to the pie crust.
Assemble the pie:
In the meantime, prepare the pastry: Use half of the pastry to fill a 9-inch pie plate. trim the edges and set the pie plate into the refrigerator to chill. Roll the remaining pastry into an about 10-inch circle. Place on parchment paper and cover with cling film or a clean kitchen towel. Chill in the fridge as well until the filling is ready.
Finish the pie: Preheat the oven to 420°F. Place the cold filling into the pastry-lined pie dish. Place the pastry lid on top. Trim, seal and flute the edge. Cut slits into the top as air vents. Brush with beaten egg. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until lightly browned. Allowed to rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
Notes
This is my favourite pie crust recipe:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
⅔ cup butter
4 to 6 tablespoons cold water
Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter until the mix looks like sand and is all crumbly. (I usually just rub the butter into the flour with clean fingertips.) Start by adding 4 tablespoons of water, mixing them in very quickly, pressing the dough together until a ball forms. DO NOT KNEAD THIS DOUGH!! Just a bit of stirring and then pressing together allowed. Chill for at least an hour before using.