Ingredients
- 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
- 3 small onions, 2 cut in half, 1 chopped, divided
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- 1/4 pound button mushrooms, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 3 ribs celery, chopped
- 2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
- Salt and ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 5-6 sprigs fresh tarragon, leaves picked and chopped
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 sheet puff pastry or pie dough, defrosted if frozen
- 1 egg, lightly beaten with a splash of water
Directions
- Pre-heat the oven to 375ºF.
- Place the chicken, halved onion and bay leaves in a large pot and cover with cold water. Place the pot over medium-high heat and bring up to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the chicken has cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and let cool. Reserve about 1 cup (a mugful) of the cooking liquid and then discard the remaining.
- While chicken cools, place a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat with two turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the chopped onion, mushrooms, carrots, celery and parsnips to the pan, then season with salt and pepper and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 7-8 minutes. While the veggies are cooking, remove the chicken breast meat from the bones and shred.
- When the veggies are tender, scoot them over to the side of the pan and add the butter to the center of the pot. Once the butter has melted, add the flour and cook for about a minute. Whisk in the milk, chicken stock and reserved poaching liquid. Bring up to a simmer, then add the tarragon, Dijon mustard, peas and shredded chicken. Bring back up to a simmer, season with salt and pepper and cook until the sauce has thickened, 2-3 minutes.
- Transfer to a casserole dish and cover with the pastry dough, trimming it as needed to cover the entire surface. Make a few slits in the dough to allow steam to escape, then brush the top with the beaten egg.
- Bake the pot pie until the filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve.