Bake-a-Long “Savory Bakes” contribution #1: Chicken Curry Pot Pie. This one isn’t much of a looker, I will admit. I rolled the pastry too thin and it started breaking from the edge of the skillet. That said, what it doesn’t have in looks, it definitely has in taste!
My mom has an expression that roughly translates as “sideways through the refrigerator”; what it means is take all your leftovers and smaller ingredients and make a meal out of it. Well, these days, I have all sorts of random bits and bobs in the fridge — a few carrots, a potato and onions, a package of boneless chicken thighs in the freezer and some pantry staples. I ended up making a yummy chicken curry last night and turned it into a pot pie for lunch (and dinner) today. It’s very yummy, even if it isn’t pretty.
Ingredients
For the pastry
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cracked black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
3-6 tablespoons ice cold water
For the filling
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium russet potato, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons curry powder (I used mild; you could use medium too)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Kosher salt
1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 large egg, beaten to blend
Directions
Prepare your crust: In a bowl, combine the flour, salt and pepper. Cut in the butter and shortening, blending until the mixture resembles coarse sand (with some larger pieces of butter). Add in three tablespoons of the ice water, using a fork to mix the dough together. Add more water, one tablespoon at a time, just until the dough comes together in a slightly crumbly ball. Turn the dough out to a lightly floured surface. Use your hands to shape the dough into a flattened disc. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours (up to 24 hours).
Preheat oven to 425F. Heat butter in a large shallow braising pot or large skillet over medium. Cook onion and red pepper, stirring often, until very soft, 8–10 minutes. Add carrots and potato, and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are partly tender, 12–15 minutes. Sprinkle with curry powder and 2 tablespoons of flour; cook, stirring to coat, just until curry powder darkens, about 1 minute. Whisk broth, soy sauce, and cornstarch in a small bowl until smooth. Add broth mixture to pot and bring to a simmer, stirring often. Cook, still stirring frequently, until mixture is very thick. Taste and season with salt, if needed. Add chicken and stir to evenly distribute. The mixture will look so thick at this point that it will seem wrong, but not to worry, the vegetables and chicken will release liquid as they cook under the pastry, creating a rich and just-thick-enough sauce as they do so.
Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface until large enough to cover skillet with an overhang of about 1 inch on all sides. Drape pastry over pot and press firmly around edges to adhere. Lightly brush with egg and cut 2–3 small slits in the center so that steam can escape.
Bake pot pie until crust is golden brown, about 18–22 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350° and continue to bake until filling is bubbling around the edges and crust is well browned, 40–45 minutes longer. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.
