Individual Chicken Pot Pies with Puff Pastry

My friend Charlie, who was the manager at the Williams-Sonoma in Santa Monica, California, asked me if I would give a Comfort Food Cooking Class using recipes from their website. He said I could pick out whatever I liked. Well, they had some great recipes, but I really fell in love with these little Individual Chicken Pot Pies in Puff Pastry. They were sooo cute and, as it turned out, pretty darn easy to make! And nuthin’ says “comfort food” like good ol’ chicken pot pie. Yummy and cute!

Individual Chicken Pot Pies with Puff Pastry

Recipe by: Bobbi Jo Lathan

Recipe type: Entree

Cuisine: Traditional

Serves: 4

PREP TIME

30 mins

COOK TIME

40 mins

TOTAL TIME

1 hour 10 mins

INGREDIENTS

8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter (cut into ½-inch cubes)

½ cup all-purpose flour

4 cups chicken stock

½ tsp. chopped fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

½ cup chopped yellow onion

½ cup chopped celery

½ cup peeled and chopped carrots

½ cup chopped white button mushrooms

½ cup red-skinned potatoes (peeled and chopped into little chunks)

1 cup cooked chicken (chopped)

½ cup cooked fresh or frozen peas

1 teaspoon each of salt and freshly ground black pepper

Four 6-inch square or round frozen puff pastry (whatever fits the 4 ramekins you'll be using)

1 egg (beaten with 1 tsp. water)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 400ºF.

2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter.

3. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture smells fragrant and nutty, 1 to 2 minutes.

4. Slowly add the stock, whisking until smooth, and bring it to a boil.

5. Add the thyme, bay leaf, onions, celery, carrots and mushrooms and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.

6. Add the potatoes, chicken, peas, salt and pepper and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 5 minutes.

7. Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

8. Remove the bay leaf and discard.

9. Now, divide the filling among 4 ovenproof ramekins or bowls and place on a baking sheet.

10. Brush the puff pastry squares with the egg mixture.

11. Brush the rims of the bowls with water.

12. Place 1 pastry square on top of each bowl, pressing lightly on the edges. (If your ramekins are round cut the pastry to fit.)

13. Bake until the pastry is puffed and golden brown, about 20 minutes.

14. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Yummy in the tummy - comfort food!!

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