My son Carter is obsessed with chicken pot pie. Everywhere we go, if they have it, he’s ordering it. His favorite so far is from a restaurant in Crested Butte, Colorado on the mountain called Avalanche. I guess it could be the effect of this hearty bowl of hot deliciousness after several mountains on the slope, but I have to say, it’s pretty darn good. This is my closest attempt at copying it. I cheat a little and don’t do a crust, instead I make biscuits so I can just do a whole baking dish of the stew and as I serve, just top each bowl with a biscuit or two.
Ingredients:
Rotisserie Chicken – skin removed and meat cubed
5 cups chicken stock
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 1/2 sticks of butter
1 large onion chopped
3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
3 carrots diced
10 oz frozen peas
5 red potatoes diced
3 sprigs thyme
2 teaspoons sea salt
Fresh ground pepper
For biscuits
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 stick cold unsalted butter – diced
3/4 cup half-and-and-half
1/2 cup fresh thyme, chopped
1 egg, beaten with a little water
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 375°. Heat chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock. Then in a large pot, melt butter and sauté onions, adding a pinch of salt to sweat them, then add flour and cook, stirring constantly to create a roux. Then slowly add in stock and mix well, bringing to a boil, then down a simmer. Add in potatoes and simmer for 5 minutes, then add in carrots, chicken, peas, thyme, salt and pepper and heavy cream. Mix well pour the mixture into a baking dish and place baking dish onto a cookie sheet. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
Prepare the biscuits:
Place flour, baking powder, sugar and butter into a large bowl and mix with an electric mixer until the butter is in pea sized balls. With the mixer on low speed, add in half-and-half and thyme. Dump out the dough onto a well floured surface and roll out the dough to about 3/8 inch in thickness. With a round cutter, cut out 12 circles. The trick is – don’t twist the cutter, just push down, otherwise you pinch the biscuits.
Remove the stew from the oven, then place the biscuits on top and brush with the egg wash. Put back in oven and bake for about 25 minutes more until biscuits are browned and stew is bubbly. Serve in bowls with one biscuit on top of each bowl.
