craven.fr (.ox.ac.uk)

Chicken pot pies are a great example of an American dish that I miss not being able to get in France. When I was in college, frozen chicken pot pies were, along with ramen and pizza, what kept me alive. With no frozen chicken pot pies here to be had, I have had to make them myself. Luckily, this is not too hard (especially if you cut corners and settle for a one-crust pie—although for this article I was feeling inspired and went with a two-crust pie), and provides an excellent use for left-over cooked chicken (which I have a lot of every time I make beer can chicken). I always have frozen mixed vegetables in the freezer, as well as frozen chicken stock, so this is pretty easy to whip together.

I found a great recipe for making an easy chicken pot pie online, with pictures showing every step of the way. However, he uses biscuit dough for the top crust, which is easy to pick up in any American supermarket, but I don't think there is anything similar over here. So I had to make my own pie crust. This ended up taking a while and making a lot of dirty dishes, but apart from that it isn't particularly difficult and I had fun with it. So, with the caveat that this is definitely a "weekend" type of endeavour, on to the recipe!

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1/3 cup corn flour
• 1 cup margarine
• 1/2 tsp salt

• 2-3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or cut into chunks
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 bouillon cube (e.g. kubor)
• 1-2 cups mixed frozen vegetables

(I actually omitted the bouillon cube thinking my stock would add enough flavour, but the sauce was too bland, so next time I plan to add one; I may have to further fine-tune the seasoning yet.)

Preparation

Prepare the dough: 1. In a big bowl, mix flour, corn flour, and salt. 2. Chop up margarine and incorporate with a pastry blender until you have pea-sized crumbs. 3. A tablespoon or so at a time, whisk in ice water with a fork until the dough starts to hold together. 4. Form into two balls, one slightly larger than the other, and put in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Prepare the filling: 1. Melt margarine. 2. Add broth and bouillon cube. 3. Add milk. 4. And chicken and vegetables. I recommend using a frying pan that is about the same size as your pie dish, this makes it easier to eyeball whether you're making too much filling or not.

Prepare the pie: 1. Grease a pie dish. 2. Roll out the larger ball of dough on a flour-covered surface until it is bigger than the pie dish with some room to spare. 3. Wrapping the dough around the rolling pin, transfer it to the pie dish and get it in place. 4. Pour the filling into the pie. 5. Roll out the smaller ball for the covering, and place it on top of the pie in the same way. 6. Fold the edges of the top crust over the bottom crust and press with fingers all the way around (removing any extra crust as you go). 7. Cut four slits in the pie to allow steam to escape (or use a pie bird if you're fancy). 8. Bake at 220° C for 45 minutes. (If the cooking dough expands to close your slits, poke them open again with a knife.)

And there you have it, home-made chicken pot pie! It's a bit of work but a good use for leftover chicken, and since it's a complete meal in itself there's nothing else to make.