Makes 4 individual pies or one large pie
FILLING
½ cup yellow onion, roughly chopped
½ cup carrots, roughly chopped
1/3 cup celery, roughly chopped
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon Roasted Garlic* (see short rib recipe)
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper
3 cups chicken stock, hot
2 teaspoons smoked salt (or kosher salt)
¼ teaspoon coarse black pepper
1/3 cup peas
2 cups prepared chicken (or store-bought rotisserie), shredded
In a high-sided pan over high heat, sweat the onion, carrot, and celery in butter. Stir in the flour, garlic, turmeric, thyme, and Aleppo pepper. Stir constantly to form a blonde roux. Add the hot stock, salt, and black pepper. Stir in peas and chicken, and simmer until slightly thickened.
PIE DOUGH (store-bought is fine too!)
1¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons cold butter
3½ tablespoons cold water
Combine flour, salt, and butter in a food processor. Pulse until a cornmeal-like texture is achieved. Add water as needed to make a smooth dough. Roll out dough and cut into four rounds large enough to cover four individual pot pie crocks, or cut into strips to make lattice.
Divide filling into four crocks or a single pie dish. Cover with pie dough (homemade or store-bought). Bake in a 425°F oven for about 20 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
A LITTLE SOMETHING EXTRA: At The Heritage Table, Chicken Pot Pies are topped with a fried quail egg. Fry the eggs until the whites have set up but the yolk is still runny. Place a fried egg on each pie, or on each slice if you’re making one large pie. Encourage your guests to poke the yolk; it’s divine.
Rich Vana sits as Chairman on the Collin College Culinary Advisory Board. Both the Culinary Arts and Pastry Arts programs at Collin College are American Culinary Federation Accredited programs, from which students graduate ready to join the industry. The majority of Vana’s kitchen staff is either currently enrolled in or has graduated from the Collin College Culinary or Pastry program. Some may arrive with a hold on the fundamentals, but little experience. But Vana and Christian say all have fire, aptitude, and the right attitude. The Heritage Table is proud to give budding chefs a chance to spread their sweet and savory wings in their very own community.
