Herbed Chicken Pot Pie with Puff Pastry

Everyone’s favorite, chicken pot pie! Savory roast chicken, beautiful veggies and herbs, topped with a flaky, buttery puff pastry! So welcome on a cold winter’s night!

Ingredients:
Serves 4 – 6

• 2 cups of cooked chicken, rotisserie or bake 2 chicken breasts
• 5 Tbs of butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 Tbs olive oil plus a little more for rubbing on the chicken
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into bite sized
• 3 ribs of celery, cut into bite sized pieces
• 5 red potatoes, quartered
• 3 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced
• 1 1/4 cups of frozen peas
• 6 large button or baby bella mushrooms, sliced (optional)
• fresh or dried herbs of your choice ( I used fresh, about 2 tsp of thyme and 1 tsp each of rosemary and sage)
• 2 tsp of black pepper (add a little in each step as indicated)
• 2 tsp of kosher salt (add a little in each step as indicated)
• 1/2 package frozen puff pastry, 1 sheet, thawed
• a little flour for rolling out the dough

∗You’ll need a 3 quart casserole dish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375° Rub the chicken breasts with a little olive oil, sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and bake for 45 minutes. Set aside and let cool, then shred or cut into bite sized pieces.
In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour and whisk for 1 minute.  Turn off the heat. Slowly pour in the buttermilk, then the chicken broth, whisking constantly, until smooth.
Turn the heat back on to medium – low and whisk until thick about 5 – 7 minutes. Season with a little salt and pepper.
Now for the veggies, heat 1 Tbs of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add the onion, carrots, celery and potatoes. Season with a little salt and pepper.
Cook and stir often until the onions are just tender about 5 minutes, then add the garlic, and cook 1 more minute.
Add the peas and the chicken to the vegetables in the skillet.
Pour the sauce over the chicken mixture and stir to combine. Add the mushrooms if using, the herbs and a little more salt and pepper. Stir well to combine and pour into the casserole dish.
Roll out the puff pastry sheet just a little larger than the casserole dish.
Place it on top of the dish, fold in the edges and cut 3 slits in the top, to let steam escape.
Bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour, until golden and beautiful. It’s very important to let it cool for about 20 minutes before serving to allow the juices to thicken.

Note to cooks:
Be your own chef with this recipe and add any vegetables and herbs that you prefer. You can also substitute pie crust for the puff pastry and you can use a rotisserie chicken.