Country-Style Chicken Pot Pie

 

I was recently reminded of my mom’s chicken pot pie topped with biscuits. The Little Prince asked for something along those lines, and it was such a great idea! This recipe is originally from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook (12th edition), and was adapted by my mother, then by me. I don’t know why I’d never made it before, but it’s so good! I’ll have to add it to the rotation. Here is my current version.

For the chicken, I seasoned some chicken breasts with garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, turmeric, ginger, salt, and pepper, and cooked them at 425 °F for 20-25 minutes.


For the baking powder biscuits
2 cups flour
½ tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. cream of tartar
1 Tbsp. sugar
½ cup lactose-free butter (or vegetable shortening)
2/3 cup lactose-free milk

In a large bowl (I actually did this with a food processor), whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, cream of tartar, and sugar. Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter or two knives (or, see, this is where the food processor blade is handy) until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the milk and stir just until the dough forms a ball around the fork (or blades).

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead 14 times. Pat until ½-inch thick (I used a rolling pin). Cut into rounds with a 2-inch cookie cutter or a glass. Reroll scraps and cut out more biscuits. At this point, you can either set them aside for a bit, or store them in the fridge until you need them.


For the chicken pot pie
6 Tbsp. lactose-free butter
6 Tbsp. flour
½ tsp. mustard powder (optional)
3 cups lactose-free milk (or 2 cups chicken broth + 1 cup lactose-free cream)
½ tsp. freshly ground pepper
salt, to taste
4 cups cooked chicken, cut into chunks
12 small white onions or 1 onion, chopped
3 smallish carrots, peeled and cubed or sliced
¾ cup peas

Preheat the oven to 450 °F.

Melt the butter into a saucepan, stir in the flour and mustard powder, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Slowly add the broth, cream, pepper, and salt to taste. Cook for 5 minutes, until thickened and smooth.

Meanwhile, in a large pan with a bit of oil, cook the onions and carrots until almost tender, then add the peas for the last few minutes.

Stir the chicken, onions, carrots, and peas with the sauce, then pour the mixture in a large casserole dish.

Place the biscuit rounds, edges touching, all over the top of the pie. Bake for 15-20 minutes until browned.