Recipes from Metropulos: Metro’s Chicken Pot Pies
Running Metropulos sometimes felt a little like cooking a pot of spaghetti: To make sure the pasta is cooked properly, some people throw a strand of spaghetti at the wall-and if it sticks, it’s done. When we had a new idea, we threw it at the wall, and if it stuck (the team liked it), we made it available to the public. If it stuck with our customers, it made it into the regular lineup.
There were many things that did not stick, but gyros, breakfast burritos and pot pies, to name a few, stuck. They became part of who we were. Once people discovered our pot pies in the freezer case, we could hardly keep them in stock. That’s when you know it’s a winner: when you can’t keep it in stock. Make a batch of these delicious savory pies, stash them into your freezer and deploy as needed-when life is too fast, or too complicated, busy or stressful, or when you’re having the best day of your life. They’re pure comfort food and communicate to your loved ones how much you love them, on good days or bad.
For the chicken, use your favorite simple roast chicken recipe or a store-bought rotisserie chicken. Let it cool to room temperature before pulling the meat from the bones. For the chicken stock, use your own homemade stock or your go-to store-bought stock. If you’ve never made your own stock, I highly recommend it. It’s simple, sodium-free by its very nature and freezes beautifully (see the Winter 2024 issue #56 for recipes).
Velouté is one of the five mother sauces in French cooking. It’s versatile and simple to make and can be used in many applications in your kitchen. If you know how to make a white sauce (such as for mac and cheese), you should have no trouble making a velouté-it’s the same basic thing, but using stock instead of milk.
Metro’s Chicken Pot Pies
Ingredients
For the Filling
- ¾ pound gold potatoes, peeled and diced ½ inch
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced about ¼ inch (about ½ cup)
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil, such as canola or vegetable oil
- ½ large yellow onion, diced ½ inch (about 1 cup)
- 2 stalks celery, diced ½ inch (about 1 cup)
- ½ cup mushrooms, cleaned, stems trimmed and quartered
- 4 cups roast chicken, diced (½ roast chicken, white and dark meat removed from bones, no skin or wings)
- White wine, or water, as needed
- 2 tablespoons Italian parsley, minced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup frozen peas, or fresh shelled peas in spring
For the Velouté
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons flour, plus more if needed
- 3 cups chicken stock
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For Assembly
- 1 package puff pastry, thawed
Instructions
Make the Velouté
- Melt the butter in a sauté pan or medium pot large enough to accommodate the liquid. Using a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula, stir in the flour to form a blond roux. Cook, stirring constantly, until the raw flour flavor is gone and the mixture is cohesive with no butter separating, about 5–10 minutes. If butter begins to leach out, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time until incorporated. This is your roux.
- Begin whisking in the stock, starting with about 1 cup and working it fully into the roux. The mixture will become quite thick and lumpy at the start; this is normal.
- Continue adding stock gradually, whisking until smooth before each addition. Once all the stock is incorporated, simmer gently 5–10 minutes, until thickened to a gravy-like consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Prepare the Filling
- Fill a medium-sized pot halfway with water and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook until halfway tender, about 5–6 minutes. Add the carrots and continue cooking until both potatoes and carrots are tender, about 5 minutes more. Drain and reserve.
- Heat neutral oil in a medium-sized pan over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until translucent. Add the celery, then the mushrooms and chicken. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a splash of white wine (or water) to lightly moisten the mixture. Stir in the parsley and the reserved potatoes and carrots. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Stir in the prepared velouté, then add the peas. Taste again and adjust seasoning as needed. Let the filling cool completely.
Assemble the Pot Pies
- Divide the cooled filling equally among four 12-ounce ramekins. Cut the puff pastry into squares about the same size as the diameter of your ramekins. Cut a small X in the center or use the tip of a knife or a piping tip to cut a small round vent. The pastry can either hang over the edge of the ramekins, or you can fold the corners towards the middle.
- If you can find puff pastry squares (I found mine at Indo China Market in Goleta), use as many as you need for the number of pot pies you’re making. You may need to roll them out slightly to reach the size you’d like.
- If freezing for grab-and-go meals, wrap each pie tightly in plastic wrap or foil and place on a sheet pan. Freeze until solid, then stack and store in your freezer.
Bake
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Place frozen pies (no need to defrost) on a foil-lined sheet pan. Bake for 1 hour. They are done when the filling is bubbling slightly through the vent on the top, the pastry is lightly golden, and the internal temperature has reached 165°F. Cool slightly and enjoy!
