Tiny Chicken Pot Pies – Delectable Dining

Tiny Chicken Pot Pies – Delectable Dining is our first Mini Cocotte Month recipe. We modified the recipe from the book, “Le Creuset Mini-Cocotte – 25 Recipes.”  John says that my interpretation resulted in the “the best chicken pot pies he’s ever tasted” — and that’s saying a lot from someone who ate hundreds of the foil-encased frozen variety as a child (they weren’t bad for processed food back in the day, but, sorry, Swanson!) The buttery homemade 3-2-1 crust is the perfect packaging for the liquid filling: it doesn’t allow seepage and this classic crust is consistently flaky and lightly browned…yum!

The recipe is for 4 mini cocottes, which is the perfect amount since it’s just the two of us and we only have 4 mini cocottes anyway. Like all experienced cooks, I make adjustments to improve flavor and to reduce waste, fat and cost. In this case, instead of 2 chicken breasts, use only 16 ounces of cooked chicken, which is a 1/2 cup per 8-ounce cocotte; reduce butter to only 5 tablespoons (from 1 stick); substitute chopped, sweet Vidalia onion in place of pearl onions; use 4 tablespoons of flour (instead of 2 tablespoons) to thicken 2 cups  of broth;

substitute 2 % milk  for half and half; use finely cut frozen broccoli instead of peas; and add 1/4 teaspoon celery seed to give it that “chicken pot pie” flavor.

In another major modification, I decided that purchasing 2 sheets of puff paste for $6.99 as called for in the Le Creuset recipe was a little pricey for a frozen product. It wouldn’t taste as good, and making a 3-2-1 paste would be just as buttery and flaky but fresher and easier to cut through than puff paste. I have added this classic French recipe below as well. You will have enough crust for 4 mini cocotte pies as well as several extra pieces that freeze well and can be used later for quiche or other recipes that require a short paste/crust.

Below is my video Tiny Chicken Pot Pies in Mini Cocottes:

Tiny Chicken Pot Pies – Delectable Dining

Serves 4

Preparation Time: 40 mins

Cooking Time: 45 minutes – 1 hour

Ingredients

• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into chunks
• 5 tablespoons sweet butter
• 2 small carrots, peeled and cut into small cubes
• 3/4 cups frozen broccoli, thawed and cut into small pieces (peas or asparagus would also be lovely)
• 3/4 cup sweet onion, chopped
• One, 14-ounce can of chicken broth
• 1/2 cup milk
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 teaspoon parsley, chopped finely
• 3-2-1 paste (see recipe below)(Ingredients: 1 stick cold butter; 3/4 cup flour; 1/4 cup cold water)
• 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 teaspoon of milk
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Bake the Chicken

Preheat oven to 350◦F. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter and pour into baking dish and coat chicken on both sides. Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides then place dish into oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until cooked. After cooking, remove from the oven and let cool then cut into chunks and set aside.

In the meantime, make the 3-2-1 paste as shown in the recipe below and refrigerate.

Heat the chicken stock and set aside.

Prepare the 3-2-1 Crust

Take 1 stick of cold butter, cut it into 16 pieces and place it in a small bowl. Add 3/4 cup white flour. Rub the cold butter into the flour with your hands, one palm rubbing over the other. When well mixed, the mixture will resemble large, pea-sized lumps. Add 1/4 cup very cold water and mix lightly until incorporated. Place3 on floured board and knead several times into a ball. Place ball on small plate and cover with a wet towel or paper towel and place in refrigerator to rest for a half hour.

Make the Filling

Over medium heat, melt the remaining butter in a saute pan and saute the onions until golden, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add flour and cook for two minutes, stirring constantly. Add hot chicken stock and let simmer for a couple minutes until the sauce begins to thicken. Add milk, celery seed, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, chicken chunks, carrots, broccoli and parsley. Stir and set aside.

Prepare the Crust

Take 1 stick of cold butter, cut it into 16 pieces and place it in a small bowl. Add 3/4 cup white flour. Rub the cold butter and flour together with your hands. The mixture will resemble large, pea-sized lumps. Add 1/4 cup very cold water and mix lightly until incorporated. Place3 on floured board and knead several times into a ball. Place ball on small plate and cover with a wet towel or paper towel and place in refrigerator to rest for a half hour.

Roll Out the Crust

Once the 3-2-1 paste has rested for at least a half an hour, remove it from the fridge and roll out the bottom crust for each of the four mini cocottes. Leave the dough you are not using in the fridge. Once you have completed rolling and placing the bottom crusts for the pies in the cocottes, set them on a cookie tray for filling.

Increase oven temperature to 400◦F.

Divide the chicken mixture between the four mini cocottes on the cookie tray and set aside.  Roll out the four top crusts and place one on each, pressing down on the edge of the cocotte to seal the crust and cutting a vent for steam.

Coat the tops of the crust with the egg wash. Bake for 35 minutes until golden brown. Serve hot.

3-2-1 Paste/Crust for Savory Pies

3-2-1 paste is made of: 3 parts flour, 2 parts butter and 1 part water. In this recipe I used:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup cold butter

1/2 cup water

Rub butter into flour between your hands until incorporated. Add water and quickly blend. Pat paste into flat disc, cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least a 1/2 hour. This will last two days in the fridge and several weeks in the freezer.