Chicken Pot Pie

America’s Test Kitchen

Serves 6 to 8

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 carrots, peeled and sliced ¼ inch thick

2 ribs celery, sliced ¼ inch thick

1 onion, minced

Salt

2 garlic cloves, minced

½ teaspoon dried thyme

½ cup all purpose flour

¼ cup dry sherry

3 cups low-sodium chicken broth

¼ cup heavy cream

2 bay leaves

Pepper

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 cup frozen peas

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

1 recipe double-crust pie dough, or refrigerated biscuits (like Pillsbury)

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Melt the buster in a large pot over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and ¼ teaspoon salt and cook until softened, about 7 minutes.

Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Stir in the flour. Slowly whisk in the sherry, scraping up and browned bits. Stir in the broth, cream, and bay leaves. Simmer until the mixture is thickened about 10 minutes.

Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Stir the chicken into the sauce and continue to simmer until the chicken is cooked through about 10 minutes.

Discard the bay leaves and stir in the peas and parsley. Pour the mixture into a 9x13 baking dish

If using the pie dough, roll it out into a 15x11-inch rectangle, the drape it over the dish, and trim. If using the biscuits, lay them over the filling.

Bake until the topping it golden brown and the filling is bubbly, about 20 minutes. Let cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

Notes: Instead of the sherry, I use more chicken broth.

I usually substitute regular milk for the cream.