Comfort food chockfull of leeks and asparagus. And it’s in single serving form for easy serving!

Chicken pot pie is one of my favorite dishes. I remember the days where my mom would take me to Boston Market as if it was just yesterday. There’d be a long line of people waiting to order but I’d still run up to the food and look through the clear windows and salivate at the pot pies they had set up. But sometimes they didn’t have them out, which meant that they were either sold out or it’d be another 20-30 minutes before the new ones would be ready. Every time this happened, I’d be so upset because that meant that we weren’t getting the pot pies (my mom wasn’t too keen on waiting the half hour). We weren’t getting the super flaky crust with the crispy corners (my favorite part of the pie) along with the piping hot creamy chicken-veggie mixture that just soaks up the crust into absolute amazingness. I was in such despair because I knew there’d be no way that I could convince my mom to wait for the pies.

Who knew that sold out pot pies would kill a kid’s spirit?

But now that I’ve found this fail-proof chicken pot pie recipe from Lindsay over at Pinch of Yum, I can make these pies right at home whenever I’m craving it, that way I don’t have to live through the torment of my childhood Boston Market days. Plus, in all honesty, it tastes 100x time better than Boston Market. I mean we have a heavier filling packed with all sorts of good stuff like asparagus, which is a bit unconventional but it provided such a wonderful bite to the filling. And asparagus is amazing in and of itself. Plus, the puff pastry crust is absolutely AH-MAZING with all of its wonderful flaky characteristics. And to top it off, serving it in a ramekin for individual portions and easy serving makes it so much more fun to eat.

So here’s how you make this:

Let’s first start by slicing up some leeks and giving them a good rinse in a bowl of water. Once they’re nice and clean, go ahead and dry them with a clean dish towel.

Then, in a large pot, throw in the leeks and carrots and saute for about 5 minutes.

Add in the asparagus and cook until the veggies become just tender-crisp, about 5 minutes more.

Remove from heat and stir in the frozen peas and shredded chicken.

Now to make the sauce, we’ll first melt some butter…

then saute the garlic…

then stir in the flour until it forms a paste…

and of course add in the stock to get a nice thick sauce.

Add the sauce to the veggies and give it a good stir to make sure everything is coated.

Now let’s divide them up in some ramekins. Six 10-ounce ramekins worked perfectly for me.

Top these babies off with the puff pastry. Be sure to make some slits to let the air escape while baking.

Pop them in the oven for about 20-30 minutes and you’ll have yourself a whole pot pie to enjoy.

One Year Ago: Potato-Leek Soup with Bacon

Individual Chicken Pot Pies (adapted from Pinch of Yum):

Yields 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:

  • 8 tablespoons salted butter, divided
  • 1 leek, white and light green parts, sliced and rinsed in a bowl of water
  • 2 cups sliced carrots
  • 2 cups chopped asparagus
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 2 cups shredded chicken
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 1 puff pastry sheet, cut into six 4 1/4-inch squares
  • 1 large egg, beaten

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil six 10-ounce ramekins or coat with nonstick spray.

To make the filling, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large pot over medium high heat. Add leeks and carrots and cook, stirring frequently, until the carrots begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add asparagus and cook, while stirring, until the vegetables are tender-crisp, about 5 minutes more. Remove from heat; stir in peas and chicken.

To make the sauce, melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan. Add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1-2 minutes. Gradually whisk in  chicken stock and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce has begun to thicken, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Add sauce to the chicken-vegetable filling and gently toss to combine.

Divide the filling evenly into the ramekins. Top with puff pastry and gently cut 4 vents in the top of the crust. Brush each crust with the beaten egg.

Place into oven and bake until the crust is golden brown, about 20-30 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving.

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