Individual Chicken Pot Pies

This recipe makes four or five pot pies, I used onion soup bowls which turned out to be perfect when I portioned the sauce into the bowls (12-14 ounce capacity). I placed one in the refrigerator for another meal and the rest in the freezer.  Puff pastry dough is perfect rather than a regular crust.

Ingredients:

1 package frozen puff pastry (Dufour found at Whole Foods or Pepperidge Farm at the local grocery store), thawed

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 medium onion, diced (I used 1/2 teaspoon onion powder)

3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped (I used 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic)

3 stalks celery, diced

3 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced into 1/8" rounds

1/3 cup flour

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme (or, I used 2 teaspoons Herbs de Provence which combines thyme, rosemary, sage, and other spices).

3-4 cups shredded and diced cooked chicken, from 1 rotisserie chicken

1 cup frozen peas (do not defrost)

1 egg

Instructions:

Filling:

In a large saute pan melt the butter.  Add the garlic, celery and carrots.  Saute, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are just cooked, 8 - 10 minutes.  Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes.  Add the broth, salt and pepper.  

Bring to a boil, stirring with a wooden spoon and scraping the bottom and corners of the pan to incorporate the flour.  Simmer until thickened.  Remove from heat and stir in the heavy cream, thyme, chicken, and peas.  Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.

Set aside to make puff pastry tops.  

Tops: 

Dust a clean work surface with flour and place the puff pastry over top.  Sprinkle the puff pastry with flour and roll to about 1/8 thickness, smoothing the creases with the rolling pin.  

Using a sharp knife, cut out circles about 2 inches larger than the diameter of your bowls,.  Place the dough rounds on a baking sheet and refrigerate until ready to use.

Assembly:

Ladle the filling into 4 oven-safe soup bowls.  The filling will come up no more than three-quarters of the way to the top of the bowls.  Do not overfill.

Whisk the egg with 1 tablespoon of water.  Brush the outside of each bowl with the egg wash. This is so that the puff pastry sticks to the bowls.  

Place the dough rounds over the bowls, pressing firmly around the edge so that the dough adheres.  Transfer the bowls to a foil-lined baking sheet.  Brush the dough with the egg wash.

Using a sharp knife, make a 1/2 inch slit in the of each pie.

Bake in a 425-degree oven (racks in center position) for 20 - 25 minutes, until pastry is rich golden brown.  

Let cool for about 10 minutes.