Coconut Curry Chicken Pot Pie

Dan    Mains, Recipes     chicken, comfort food, curry, pie

What you’ll need…

2 chicken breasts (skin on, bone in)

1 yellow onion

3 cloves garlic

1 leek

1 carrot

1 red potato

1 red bell pepper

1/2 cup white mushrooms

1 14 oz can coconut milk

1/2 cup chicken stock

1 stalk lemon grass

1 TBSP red curry paste

1 TBSP tamarind paste

1/2 cup fresh cilantro

1 pie crust (bottom and top…obviously?)

1 egg (for egg wash, optional)

corn starch

olive oil

salt & pepper

Chicken pot pie has got to be one of the best types of comfort food out there. I know I’ve enjoyed eating it again, and again, and again…but, sometimes, even the most beautiful of things can do with a bit of a makeover. With a helpful hint of Thai influence, this pie retains it’s ‘comfort level’ while tasting exotic. It’s like a neat little trip to Asia for your taste buds to mentally escape the cold.

Feel free to skip this first step by using either a) store-bought roasted chicken or b) regular old chicken breasts cut up into chunks and added to the vegetable mixture. I just felt as though tender, roasted meat was the way to go with this one.

In a change from my usually ‘step one’, we will not be starting with chopped onions and garlic. Instead, start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees. Now season the chicken breasts lightly with salt & pepper, and in a medium-sized pot on high heat, sear them for 1 1/2 minutes per side. Remove from chicken from pot, place in a small, prepared baking dish, and cover with tin foil, shiny side in (I can never remember!). Let the chicken roast in the oven for 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop the onion, mince the garlic, and add it to the pot with a bit of olive oil. Turn to medium heat and allow the onions to soften. During this time, chop the leek and add to the pot. Stir, and let cook, uncovered for 5 minutes. Halve the lemon stalk and chop the carrot, potato, bell pepper, and mushroom into bite-sized pieces. Add the chopped vegetables to the pot, stir, and let cook for another 5 minutes. Now, add the coconut milk, 1 cup of water, the lemon grass stalk, red curry, and tamarind. Give it another good stir, turn back to high heat, and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Now it is time for the chicken and vegetable mixture to meet. Once the chicken has finished roasting, remove from oven (but leave on to bake the pie) cut the meat (skin ‘n’ all!) into reasonable mouthful chunks and add to the pot. By now, the coconut milk should have thickened, and you will have a nice filling for that prepared pie crust that waiting on the counter. Add a few solid turns of black pepper, and a bit of salt if need be. If the mixture is still a bit too watery then add a bit of cornstarch and water to help thicken. Finally, add the fresh cilantro to the pot and give everything a final stir.

Spoon the filling into the pie crust (at this point I would recommend being over-zealous with the filling, make it nice and full!), brush the crust edges with a bit of water, then put the top on. Feel free to criss-cross, or make a pretty design, etc…I’m currently not that gifted in the baking department. Brush with the top with some egg wash and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Cut it up, dish it out, and enjoy. 100% satisfaction guaranteed!

Serves 4-5

Total cook time…50 min

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