Ingredients
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1 egg, beaten
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4 chicken breast halves (or 2 cups leftover cooked chicken)
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2 tablespoons cooking oil
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1/3 cup butter
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2/3 cup all-purpose flour (or less ( see chef's note in directions)
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1 quart milk (Paula's recipe called for cream)
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1/4 cup chicken base (or less ( see chef's note in directions)
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1 tablespoon minced garlic
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1 cup frozen green pea, cooked
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2 -4 sheets frozen puff pastry (her original recipe called for 4, I felt 2 was plenty)
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1/2 small yellow onion, minced
Instructions
- For Crust: Preheat oven to 350°F Cover large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Cut each sheet of frozen puff pastry into 1-inch strips long enough to cover each pie. On cookie sheet, weave strips into squares. (I made one large square to cover 8x8 casserole with pieces close together. As a result, it didn't cook all the way through in the center.) Brush beaten egg onto each lattice square.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until pastry has risen and is a nice golden brown. (It should be cooked through at this stage). Set aside until ready to assemble pies.
- For Filling: Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and sauté until cooked through. Remove from heat and cut into chunks.
- In a large saucepan melt butter and then slowly add flour, stirring until consistency of peanut butter, but do not brown like a roux. NOTE: You may not need all of the flour--stop with it is the right consistency--it may only take 1/4 cup. Slowly add cream and keep stirring.
- Add chicken base (NOTE: here again you may not want to use all 1/4 cup--it may be too salty so use caution), garlic, and onion and stir until thickened.
- Add cooked peas and carrots, nutmeg, if using, and cut up chicken. Remove from heat.
- To serve fill 4 individual oven-proof bowls with chicken mixture and then top each with a pre-cooked lattice square.