Coming from South Africa with a British influence, this rotisserie chicken pot pie with puff pastry combines the best of everything I like in a savory pie. I appreciate a tasty filling that has substance and is not mushy: tasty, chunky rotisserie chicken with fresh vegetables. It also needs a perfect balance of sauce and chicken filling: not too dry and not too soupy! The pastry should not be tough but light and flaky, and using puff pastry is the perfect topping for this tasty, cheater rotisserie chicken pot pie with puff pastry.
Tips for making rotisserie chicken pot pie with puff pastry
Rotisserie chicken.
Shred the rotisserie chicken into fairly large chunks approximately 1.5 - 2 inch (4 - 5 cm) strips. It should be large enough so that one can taste a chunk of chicken but small enough so that a knife is not required when eating. The skin and the bones can be saved to make a delicious, rich chicken broth.
Shredded rotisserie chicken
Vegetables.
For this rotisserie chicken pot pie with puff pastry recipe, fresh carrots, celery, onion, mushrooms, garlic, frozen corn and peas are used. I do not use the frozen carrot-pea, medley mix which is the ingredient in most recipes as the cell structure of the carrots break down when they are frozen and as they thaw, excess water is released, preventing them from caramelizing and sweetening.
The garlic, onion and carrots. are sauteed primarily to caramelize them, extracting the sugars and providing sweetness to the filling. The rest of the vegetables are briefly sauteed since most of the cooking is done in the oven when the pastry is browning.
Chopped vegetables for pot pie
Seasoning.
Salt, black pepper, mushroom seasoning and herbes de Provence is used to flavor this pot pie. Herbes de Provence can be purchased in most grocery stores but can be made from a combination of dried herbs. I make my own with a combination of dried rosemary, thyme, marjoram and a little lavender.
Sauce.
The sauce is made from flour, butter and milk. A roux made up of equal parts of butter and flour is stirred with a whisk and the milk is added a little at a time to avoid lumps. The video shows how this is done as the procedure is somewhat tricky.
Rotisserie chicken pot pie filling.
Puff Pastry.
It is worth it to get puff pastry that is made with 100% butter. The taste is better, and all-natural butter puff pastry is healthier than ones made with trans-fats. So, look at the ingredient list to ensure that it's made with butter. Some of the better-known brands that you'd assume would make their pastry with butter, don't! There are a few brands that make an all-butter puff pastry such as Dufour Classic pastry and Trader Joes which are usually sold during the holiday season.
Trader Joe's puff pastry
Dufour puff pastry
Rotisserie chicken pot pie with puff pastry. Edges are cut with sharp knife. Discards rolled to make rosettes for decoration. Egg wash applied. Vent holes pierced in pastry to allow steam from filling to escape during baking.
Picking the right oven-safe dish
I believe that one of the best parts of a pot pie is the wonderful pastry on the top so picking the right oven-safe dish is important. If the dish is too deep and narrow, less pastry will be needed to cover the top. Depending on the dimensions of the puff pastry, find a shallow oven-proof dish that is slightly smaller than the pastry. You can always use a rolling pin to roll out the pastry to achieve the correct dimensions before cutting the pastry edges.
Rotiserrie chicken pot pie
Getting the flakiness in the puff pastry.
Using a sharp knife, cut the edges of the puff pastry dough to expose the butter and dough layers. Avoid applying the egg wash to the edges to allow the layers to separate and form. In the image below, the left side of the corner was cut with a knife and the right side was not. Roll the discards of the dough into rosettes and place them in the center for decoration.
Apply an egg wash to the pastry for a golden brown color and insert a few vent holes to allow the steam from the filling to escape. This reduces the moisture in the pastry, allowing it to crisp and brown.
Another way to obtain flakiness is to create steam from the melted butter which then separates the layers of dough. This is achieved by making sure that the pastry is always cold and work quickly so that the butter doesn't melt. Then initially bake the pot pie in a hot 425 degree fahrenheit (218 degrees celcius) oven for 10 minutes and later reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees fahrenheit (191 degrees celcius).
Two sides of a puff pastry crust showing the difference between the edges. Left side edge was cut prior to baking while the right side was not.
The combination of a delicious, hearty chicken filling combined with a light, flaky pastry makes this rotisserie chicken pot pie with puff pastry absolutely amazing! Enjoy and happy cooking. If you've made this recipe, let me know what you think in the comment section.
ROTISSERIE CHICKEN POT PIE with PUFF PASTRY
Equipment
- 1 oven-proof dish Shallow dish. Shape and size about the size of the puff pastry sheet.
Ingredients
- 1 Sheet All-butter puff pastry
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp water
Filling
- 500 g pulled rotisserie chicken meat
- 300 g fresh carrots, chopped
- 150 g fresh celery, chopped in ½ " slices
- 100 g onion diced in ¼" pieces
- 227 g mushrooms slices in ¼" slices
- 3 cloves fresh garlic
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- ½ cup frozen corn
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp herbes de provence
Sauce
- 34 g butter
- 34 g all purpose flour
- 600-700 ml milk
- 1½ tsp mushroom bouillon
Instructions
- Add olive oil to a medium saucepan.2 Tbsp olive oil
- Add garlic and onion to caramelize.3 cloves fresh garlic, 100 g onion
- Add carrots and celery and cook until al dente.300 g fresh carrots,, 150 g fresh celery,
- Add mushrooms and stir.227 g mushrooms
- Add frozen corn and frozen peas and stir.½ cup frozen corn, ½ cup frozen peas
- Add salt, pepper, herbes de Provence and stir.1 tsp sea salt, ½ tsp black pepper, 2 tsp herbes de provence
- Pour mixture into oven-proof bowl.
Make sauce.
- Melt butter in saucepan and heat until bubbling.34 g butter
- Add the flour.34 g all purpose flour
- Using a whisk, stir the flour into the butter.
- While whisking, slowly add milk a little at a time and whisk until completely incorporated before adding more milk until all the milk is added.600-700 ml milk
- Add mushroom seasoning to sauce.1½ tsp mushroom bouillon
- Add the filling mixture and chicken and stir to incorporate.500 g pulled rotisserie chicken meat
- Cool the filling.
Baking the pot pie
- Preheat oven to 425°F (177° C)
- Prepare the puff pastry by cutting the edges with a sharp knife.
- Place the pastry over the pot pie, extending over the edges.1 Sheet All-butter puff pastry
- Whisk the egg with water to create an egg wash.1 egg, 1 Tbsp water
- Brush the pastry with egg wash and avoid the sharp, cut edges.
- Using a knife, insert vent holes into the pastry to allow the steam to escape during baking.
- Bake at 425°F (218° C) for 10 minutes.
- Turn temperature to 375°F (191° C) for 30-40 minutes until golden brown.
- Enjoy!