About this Recipe

By: Rachel

I have written before about the siren call of foods from the books of my childhood. The impossibly bronzed and glistening roast goose from The Little Matchgirl; wild plums bursting with juice, warm from the sun and ripe for the plucking in The Banks of Plum Creek; the towering pink nut cake adorned with walnuts that Anne Shirley brings as a peace offering to Mr. Harrison.

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s mother, Caroline, seemed to always be baking a pie. I imagined her chicken pies to be impossibly rustic; made of flaky pastry and with a flavor that only homemade butter, churned from the milk of cows raised on one’s own farm, could impart. Steaming under the pie’s lid was surely the tenderest meat; the choicest homegrown vegetables; the thickest and most flavorful gravy.

No matter how hard I searched, nothing in real life quite lived up to the way that these dishes existed in my mind. I am sure that Mrs. Ingalls was a wonderful cook, but I wonder if her dishes—or any food—could possibly live up to my imaginings. Nonetheless, her pie was the inspiration for this one: simple, rustic, and soul-satisfying.

This pie is my favorite way to use up leftover roast chicken, or turkey from Thanksgiving. The filling is very adaptable. You can include any vegetables you have on hand—mushrooms, leeks, and green beans are all welcome additions. If you have any leftover gravy, simply fold it into the filling.

Note: It is very important that all of the ingredients, from the dough to the filling, are very cold when you are ready to assemble your pie. I usually make the filling a day ahead of time to facilitate this process. You may also make your dough a day ahead of time, but I do not recommend doing so because it may be very difficult to roll out your dough. Allowing your dough to chill for 1-2 hours before rolling out is optimal; it will be cold enough to create a flaky dough but not so cold that you cannot roll it out.

Chicken Pie

Creamy chicken filling and lots of vegetables are served steaming hot beneath a flaky, buttery crust—pure comfort food.

Print Recipe

Ready In 4

Meal Type Main Dish

Good For Anytime

Servings 8

Ingredients

Filling

8 tablespoons (112g) unsalted butter, divided
1 large onion, small dice
4 stalks celery, small dice
3 medium carrots, small dice
Leaves from 3 sprigs fresh thyme, or ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper
6 tablespoons (50g) white flour
2 cups (500 mL) whole milk, warmed
1 tablespoon chicken base, such as Better than Bouillon
3 small Yukon gold or red potatoes, peeled, parboiled* and diced
1 rotisserie chicken, meat removed from bones and shredded
1 ½ cups (240g) frozen peas, rinsed
*To parboil, add halved potatoes to a pot of cold water and boil for 5 minutes (they will not be cooked through). Allow to cool, then dice.

Pie Crust

1 cup (230g) unsalted butter, cold
2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
½ tablespoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup (120g) very cold water

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1

In a large, deep skillet, melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat.
Add the onion and sauté, stirring frequently, for 5-6 minutes, or until softened. Add the celery and carrots, and stir to combine. Add the thyme, season generously with salt and pepper, and sauté for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Step 2

Add the remaining butter, allowing it to melt before adding the flour. Stir to coat all ingredients, and allow to cook until ingredients have begun to brown, around 5 minutes.
Slowly stir in the warmed milk and bring to a simmer. Add the chicken base and continue to stir; the sauce will thicken.

Step 3

Add the potatoes and chicken, and simmer for 2 minutes. Stir in the peas, and turn off the heat. Taste and correct seasoning, and set aside to cool, then transfer to the refrigerator. Do not fill the crust until the filling is cold.

Step 4

Next, make your pie crust. Set a box grater over a large, shallow dish. Shred the cold butter as if you were shredding cheese. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and set it in the freezer or refrigerator to stay cold.

Step 5

Mix the dry ingredients together in a very large bowl and set aside. Using a silicone spatula, stir in the cold butter, distributing it as evenly as you can. Pour the water over the dough and mix to combine until it is the consistency of dough.

Step 6

Form the dough into two discs. Wrap each with plastic wrap and transfer to the refrigerator to chill for 20 minutes.

Step 7

Move one of the rounds of dough to a well-floured countertop, leaving the remaining dough in the refrigerator.
Roll out to a bit larger than the size of your pie pan, and transfer to the pie pan. Fill your crust with the chilled filling.
Now roll out the remaining dough and lay it atop your filling as the top crust. Crimp the edges and cut a few slits on the top crust for venting.
Transfer the pie to the freezer to chill for 30 minutes. While the pie is chilling, preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C).

Step 8

Place the pie on a large sheet pan lined with foil for easy cleanup.
Place the pie in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 375°F (190°C) and continue to bake for 45-55 minutes or until nicely browned. If the crust is browning faster than desired, you may tent it loosely with foil.

Nonalcoholic Beverage Pairing

By: Gaelynn Lea

This is a good recipe to pair with an alcohol-free white (or perhaps rosé) wine, as this hearty chicken dish will benefit from a brighter, lighter beverage pairing. Just don’t go too sweet (Riesling, I’m looking at you) or bubbly (let’s save the sparkles for dessert)!

But before you pick up a bottle, it’s important to note that when I say alcohol-free wine, I’m not talking about sparkling grape juice. I’m referring to real wine that has been de-alcoholized.

Admittedly, white and rosé wines are a more reliable substitute than reds in terms of flavor and body (depending on the brand, alcohol-free red wines can sometimes taste like watery grape juice). That is changing, of course, as the market continues to evolve— there are a few NA reds that I’ve been meaning to try myself!

The greatest thing about alcohol-free white and rosé wines is that even if your local liquor store doesn’t carry a huge selection of alcohol-free options, most of these will be at least passable with food. However, if you’re willing to purchase something online, your options grow significantly!

Here are a few alcohol-free white / rosé wine recommendations:

Thomson & Scott – Noughty Alcohol-Free Blanc ($26)
Misty Cliffs Non-Alcoholic Sauvignon Blanc ($20)
Leitz – Eins Zwei Zero Chardonnay ($23)
Missing Thorn Rosé ($18)
Giesen Non-Alcoholic Sauvignon Blanc ($16) – Giesen is the least expensive wine on the list, but it’s a solid choice. To the best of my knowledge, it’s also widely available in liquor stores (the other recommendations might involve a bit of online shopping). I have purchased Giesen wine at Whole Foods before—and in several states!

Finally, if getting alcohol-free wine isn’t an option for you (perhaps it’s too expensive, or you’ll feel too tempted by the sight of a wine bottle), I would recommend a Fever Tree Sparkling Pink Grapefruit Juice.

These pretty little glass bottles are intended to be mixers for cocktails, but they taste quite delightful on their own! Fever Tree’s pink grapefruit flavor goes well with a wide variety of food you would normally pair with white wine. Four-packs are available at most liquor stores, and they cost less than $10.

Wine Pairing

By: Olivia

Chablis is the right choice to pair with this creamy, buttery chicken pie! From the Burgundy region of France, Chablis is well known for its spectacular Chardonnay. The wines from this region are dry with high acidity and notes of apple, lime, peach, and white flowers. This aroma and taste profile will stand on its own next to the chicken, vegetables, and flaky pie crust.