Pollo Pot Pie

Now, after that kerfuffle (please, family! Say you still love me!), to satisfy the midwestern side of my tastebuds.

Chicken pot pie is one of the great comfort foods. I'm fairly sure that between the ages of 7 and 13, I personally consumed a vast quantity of the stuff. Only what I craved was the frozen out-of-a-box stuff. There's no shame in that.

But now that I'm a grown-up and can control my own freezer space, I choose to stock ice cream. And the occasional frozen pizza - for emergencies only. 

I found some puff pastry in there, squirreled away from the last time I needed it. I also happened to have leftover roasted chicken. Oh boy! Pot pie time!

But I didn't want to do the regular version. Mostly because I didn't have any carrots. But I did have black beans. Ole! Pollo Pot Pie it is!

I always start with the chopping first - onion, jalapeno, roasted red pepper and garlic.

Saute the onions in butter and olive oil. Wait a few minutes, then add the chopped garlic.

Don't forget to warm up the milk and chicken stock!

It doesn't need to boil, it just needs to be close.

Once the onions are nicely translucent, add the spices and the flour.

Stir it all up, and let it cook for 1-2 minutes. Then, slowly add the milk mixture.

Once you've whisked the heck out of it, add the chilies in adobo liquid, jalapenos, red pepper, and peas.

Then add the black beans and chicken. Mmmm. Mexican-ized!

Grab your ramekins and cut out the puff pastry circles.

Make them slightly larger than the ramekins themselves. (If you don't have ramekins, you can use a pie plate or other shallow-ish dish.)

Fill them up with the chicken mixture and top with pastry.

Crimp it a little, like a double crusted pie. I used the leftover pastry to make pretty decorations....

So pretty, I'm sure I want to eat them!

Then again.....

Pollo Pot Pie

Serves 3-4
Adapted from Alton's Curry Pot Pie

1 small white onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

1 jalapeno, de-seeded and diced

4 tbsp roasted red peppers, chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter

1/2 c. milk

1 1/2 c. chicken stock

1 tsp Mexican oregano

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp cumin seeds

3 tbsp flour

1 tbsp chiles in adobo sauce

1/2 c. frozen peas

1/2 c. black beans

2 c. cooked chicken, cubed

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat the olive oil, butter and onion in a large saute pan on medium heat. Cook onions 2-3 minutes, add garlic. Cook another 2-3 minutes, until translucent. Warm the milk and chicken stock in a small saucepan. To the onion mixture, add the flour, paprika, cumin seed, and oregano. Stir well. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk mixture. Stir in the adobo sauce, peas, jalapeno, and red pepper. Add the black beans and chicken. Salt and pepper to taste.

Make sure the puff pastry is cut to fit your vessel (I used 2 medium sized ramekins and had a little mixture left over, you can use a pie plate, a square glass dish, or whatever you've got). Fill your vessel, top with pastry. Place vessel on a baking sheet and put in the oven for 25 minutes, until pastry is golden brown and mixture is bubbly.

I'd wait a little while after it comes out of the oven to eat it. Or you'll burn your tastebuds off!