Sixteen

I've been quite adventurous in my cooking of late.  Yesterday I tried another new recipe that I share with you because it meets three of the critical criteria of main meals entering the monthly cooking rotation: tasty, can prep in advance, and easy.

Do not be daunted by the number of ingredients or steps of preparation.  Although next time I will do all my chopping & topping in advance, the time really flew by.  I can see myself making this on a Sunday morning & popping it in the oven immediately after church.  Any meal that can be hot in less than 30 minutes is a perfect Sunday dinner!

Chicken Pot Pie with Savory Crumble Topping

(from Cook's Illustrated)

Filling:

• 1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts and/ or thighs
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 Tbs. vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 3 medium carrots, peeled & cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices (about 1 cup)
• 2 small celery ribs, chopped fine (about 1/2 cup)
• 10 ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced thin
• 1 tsp. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. tomato paste
• 4 Tbs. butter
• 1/2 cup AP flour
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 3 Tbs. minced parsley
• 3/4 cup frozen baby peas

Crumble topping:

• 2 cups AP flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 6 Tbs. butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes & chilled
• 1 oz. Parmesan cheese
• 3/4 cup + 2 Tbs. heavy cream

1. For the chicken: Bring chicken & broth to a simmer in a covered Dutch oven over medium heat.  Cook until the chicken is just done, 8-12 minutes.  Transfer cooked chicken to a large bowl.  Pour broth through a fine-mesh strainer into liquid measuring cup and reserve.  Do not wash Dutch oven.  Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees.
2. For the topping:  Combine flour, baking powder, salt & peppers in large bowl.  Sprinkle butter pieces over top of flour.  Using fingers, rub butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse cornmeal.  Stir in Parmesan.  Add cream and stir until just combined.  Crumble mixture into irregularly shaped pieces onto parchment lined rimmed baking sheet.  Bake until fragrant and starting to brown, 10-13 minutes.  Set aside. 
3. For the filling:  Heat 1 Tbs. oil in now-empty Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering.  Add onion, celery, carrots, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 5 to 7 minutes.  While vegetables are cooking, shred chicken into bite-size pieces.  Transfer cooked vegetables to bowl with chicken; set aside.  
4. Heat remaining Tbs. oil in empty Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering.  Add mushrooms; cover and cook, stirring occasionally until mushrooms have released their juices, about 5 minutes.  Remove cover and stir in soy sauce and tomato paste. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until liquid has evaporated, mushrooms are well browned, and dark fond begins to form on surface of pan, about 5 minutes.  Transfer mushrooms to bowl with chicken and vegetables.  Set aside. 
5. Heat butter in empty Dutch oven over medium heat.  When foaming subsides, stir in flour and cook 1 minute.  Slowly whisk in reserved chicken broth and milk.  Bring to a simmer, scraping pan bottom with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits, then continue to simmer until sauce fully thickens, about 1 minute.  Season to taste with slat & pepper.  Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and 2 Tbs. parsley.        
6. Stir chicken-vegetable mixture and peas into sauce.  Pour mixture into a 13 x 9" baking dish.  Scatter crumble topping evenly over filling.  Bake on rimmed baking sheet until filing is bubbling and topping is well browned, 12 to 15 minutes.  Sprinkle with remaining Tbs. parsley and serve.