Let’s get back to basics.
Basics like mixing flour into butter with your fingers. Like mincing garlic. Like sautéing onions in a cast iron pan until they start to brown. Like watching a sauce thicken in your pan. Like whisking together eggs and brushing them on dough right before baking.
These are basics that come to feel instinctual to the experienced cook. These are basics that challenge beginners but give them something to brag about when they get them right. These are all things you can accomplish with chicken pot pie.
This weekend, the weather dipped below 50 and I wanted to make something that rooted me back down into those uncomplicated, time-consuming cooking tasks.
The CSA basket brought basically all of these ingredients: carrots, kale, squash, and onions. I popped into the grocery store for chicken and buttermilk, and pulled some homemade chicken broth out of the freezer.
But before I could get kneading and chopping, I needed some background entertainment. I’m on an podcast binge: Planet Money, This American Life, and The Longest Shortest Time. These are my current favorites.
The chopping, the dough, the turning down the heat to let the filling thicken—it’s all a labor of love. And in the end, it’s a hearty chicken pot pie, and only one pan to clean up.
- 1¼ cup all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
- ¼ cup buttermilk, cold
- 3 sprigs thyme, leaves removed from stems
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 chicken thighs, chopped into ½ inch pieces
- 2 white onions, chopped
- 2 large carrots, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 small bunch kale, center ribs removed, greens chopped
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 small to medium delicata squash, seeds removed, cut into ½ inch pieces
- 1 large egg, whisked
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Add in butter cubes and, using your hands, work the butter into the flour until small, pea-sized clumps form. Pour in buttermilk and sprinkle in thyme. Work liquid into flour until a shaggy dough forms. Knead slightly, form into a disc and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate while you make the filling. Dough can be made one day ahead of time.
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Heat olive oil in a 10 inch cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Add in chicken pieces and cook until they start to brown, stirring occasionally. Transfer chicken to plate and set aside.
- Add onions to pan and cook until they begin to brown, about 4 minutes. Add in carrots and cook until they soften, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic and kale and cook until kale starts to wilt, about 2 minutes. Season with salt.
- Reduce heat to low and sprinkle flour and rosemary on top of vegetables. Stir constantly for about 2 minutes, until flour is well integrated. Add broth and squash, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until squash has softened.
- Return chicken to pan, stir, and season filling with salt to taste. Turn off heat.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to a 13 inch round. Gently drape dough on top of cast iron pan, tucking the sides in and crimping them with a fork. Cut four 1 inch slits in the center of the dough to vent, then brush with egg wash.
- Bake pot pie for 20-25 minutes, until crust is golden brown. Let cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.
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