Chicken Pot Pie (aka Comfort Food)
by lisa | 4 November 2012 13:13
My daughter was home this weekend and she asked for chicken pot pie. She has always loved chicken pot pie despite the fact that she has been a vegetarian for most of her life. She used to just pick the chicken out so it was really the creamy sauce and the crust that she loved. How could I make a paleo chicken pot pie that would still have a creamy sauce and a tasty crust?
The Crust
The crust was easy. I followed this recipe at Elana’s Pantry. Elana uses Honeyville almond flour because it’s exceptionally fine ground and works well in baked goods. I can’t get that here and so I just use this almond flour and it works just fine despite a more ground nut texture than a flour texture.
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 egg
- Place flour and salt in food processor and pulse briefly.
- Add coconut oil and egg and pulse until mixture forms a ball.
- Chill until you are ready to roll it out and use it.
The Creamy Sauce
I made a sauce in much the same way as I used to in terms of flavors, and all I needed to figure out was how to replace the flour and milk from my old recipe. I used chicken broth to replace the milk. I considered coconut milk but didn’t want to end up with a coconut flavor. I used cashews to provide the thickness and creaminess that I used to get from flour.
Ingredients
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 Tablespoon thyme
- 1 Tablespoon sage
- 1 cup cashews
- 2 cups chicken broth (I used 1 1/2 cups and it was a bit too thick)
How I did it
- I soaked my raw unsalted cashews in a bowl of water for 2 hours, but I think you could skip this step.
- Saute garlic and onions in about a tablespoon of ghee or coconut oil for about 5 minutes until soft and translucent.
- Add chicken broth and spices and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and pour into your food processor with the cashews. Mix well until you have a creamy consistency.
- Set aside your sauce.
Creamy Sauce
The Filling
- 3 stalks of celery, diced
- 2 diced carrots
- 1 cup green beans
- 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
- 2 cups chopped chicken (I roasted a chicken and used that but you could just as easily use broiled, grilled or left over chicken). Save your carcass for making chicken broth!
Roast Chicken
- chicken pan drippings, ghee or coconut oil
- 1/4 cup water or broth
What I did
- Saute your celery in your pan drippings or an alternative oil for 5 minutes.
- Add in carrots, green beans and mushrooms and your water or broth.
- Cook until the water/broth is gone and your vegetables are tender (but not well done).
- Add in your chicken.
- Pour your creamy sauce over your chicken vegetable mix and stir to combine everything.
- Spoon your mixture into your baking dish. You can use small single serving ramekins (8) or you can use a regular pie pan.
- Roll out your crust on some parchment paper and place over the top.
- Bake in a preheated 195 c (385 F) for 20-30 minutes or until your crust has turned golden and the sauce has bubbled over the edges.
Comfort Food
The Verdict
It was really delicious. My daughter loved it and gave it two thumbs up. She even ate the chicken. She is trying hard to incorporate more animal products into her life. She started with bacon (of course) and now eats chicken. She loves green peas and did notice that those were missing, but green beans were a good replacement. As they are more pod than legume, they are considered acceptable on a paleo diet. You could put any vegetables in your filling that your family likes.
Source URL: https://swisspaleo.ch/chicken-pot-pie-aka-comfort-food/