Tuesday 1 April 2014

365 Recipes: Chicken and Biscuit Potpie

The Recipe:
Chicken potpie is so much easier with just a biscuit crust on top instead of a full top and bottom crust. This one happens to be a delicious buttermilk biscuit recipe that I use without the pie when I just want biscuits, too. Using a star cutter is optional, unless you've got a two-year-old cutting out the biscuits for you, in which case stars are obvs mandatory.

The Ingredients:
For the Biscuits:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1/4" cubes
3/4 cup buttermilk
For the Filling:
1 tablespoon butter
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cups milk
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon each thyme and parsley
3 tablespoons cooking sherry
3-4 cups cooked shredded chicken
3/4 cup frozen mixed vegetables

The Method:
1. In a large bowl. stir together biscuit dry ingredients. Cut in butter, then stir in buttermilk with a fork until mixture comes together. If the dough is too dry, add a little extra buttermilk 1 tablespoon at a time.
2. Roll out dough on floured surface to 3/4" thickness and cut out 12 rounds with a 3" cookie cutter. Transfer to a plate and chill until ready to add to pie.
3. Preheat oven to 400F. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook carrots, onions, and celery until tender. Season with salt and pepper and place in a 9x13" baking dish along with the chicken and frozen vegetables. Set aside.
4. In the same pot, reduce heat to medium, add butter, and let it melt. Whisk in the flour, then slowly add the milk, chicken broth, parsley, and thyme. Whisk constantly and simmer until thickened. Stir in sherry and add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Stir sauce into chicken-vegetable mixture and bake for 18 minutes. Remove dish from the oven and place the biscuits on top of the filling, then bake an additional 10-12 minutes, until biscuits are golden-brown and filling is bubbling.

The Verdict:
Quintessentially good. I suppose it might be possible to improve on this classic recipe, but I'm totally unmotivated to research other recipes, because this one is really great.

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