INDIVIDUAL CHICKEN POT PIES
Ingredients
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 carrot thinly sliced
1 small parsnip thinly sliced
1 stalk celery thinly sliced
1 medium potato, peeled and diced
½ cup dry white wine
1 ½ cups chicken stock
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into ½ inch pieces
½ tsp EACH dried thyme and rosemary
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
½ cup whipping cream
5 tsp cornstarch
½ cup peas
1 package (450 g) puff pastry, refrigerate until needed
1 egg, lightly beaten
Preparation
Preheat oven to 425 F.
Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add shallot, carrot, parsnip, celery and potato. Cook until soft, about 7 minutes.
Add wine; boil until reduced by half (about 2 minutes).
Add stock; bring to a boil. Add chicken, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper; stir cook for 5 minutes. Stir in cream.
Mix cornstarch with 2 Tbsp water. Stir into the pot: return to boiling and stir cook until thickened (about 5 minutes). Stir in peas.
Remove from heat. Divide mixture in half and refrigerate one half until completely cool. Divide remaining half into two small oven proof dishes that each hold about 1 cup.
Remove puff pastry from fridge and cut into four squares. Place 1 square on top of each each dish; brush with beaten egg and cut a hole in the top to vent. Refrigerate remaining two squares of pastry.
Bake on baking sheet until pastry is golden, about 12-15 minutes.
Assemble two more pot pies using the cooled filling and the remaining puff pastry. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and freeze for up to 4 months. Heat oven to 400F. Remove plastic wrap and bake from frozen for 1 hour or until filling reaches 160F.
Family Size Variation: Prepare filling. Roll out puff pastry on a floured surface. Place a 2 L oven-proof dish over pastry and cut pastry to overlap dish by ½ inch. Chill pastry in fridge until ready to use. Pour filling into casserole and top with pastry; brush with beaten egg. Bake on a baking sheet until pastry is golden, about 15-20 minutes.
As seen on Great Tastes of Manitoba 2016.