Ingredients
Equipment
Method
Sear the chicken.
- Heat a drizzle of oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces and season with salt and pepper. Saute for 2 minutes until golden on the outside. Remove and set aside — it will finish cooking in the oven.Neutral oil for the pan, 2 chicken breasts
Cook the vegetables.
- In the same skillet add 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the leeks, carrots, and onion. Cook for 5 minutes until softened.1 cup leeks, 1 cup carrots, 4 tablespoons butter, ½ cup onion
Build the roux.
- Add the garlic and remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the raw flour smell is gone.2 cloves garlic, 4 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons flour
Make the sauce.
- Add the white wine and let it cook off for 30 seconds. Add chicken bouillon, water, and cream. Stir and let the sauce simmer and thicken for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the peas.½ cup peas, ¼ cup white wine, 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon, ½ cup water, ½ cup cream, Salt and pepper to season
Return the chicken to the skillet.
- Stir everything together. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Top with pastry.
- Cut the puff pastry sheets into rectangle strips and lay them across the top of the skillet. Brush with beaten egg.2 puff pastry sheets, 1 egg
Bake.
- Bake at 425°F for 30 minutes until the pastry is deep golden brown and the filling is bubbling around the edges.
Rest and serve.
- Let it sit for 5 minutes before serving so the filling sets slightly.
Notes
- Sear the chicken for two minutes and that is it. It finishes in the oven and stays juicy. Overcooked chicken in a pot pie is immediately noticeable.
- Cook the roux for a full minute before adding liquid. Raw flour is one of those things you cannot fix once it is in there.
- A quarter cup of white wine lifts the whole filling. Use something you would actually drink. Omit this if you don't have it.
- Lay the pastry strips slightly overlapping so every serving gets pastry and the filling stays sealed.
- Egg wash every strip generously. That is what gives you the deep golden colour.
- Five minutes rest before serving. Cut in too early and the filling runs everywhere.