Cottage Chicken Pie

Chicken Pie ready to pop into the oven

I seem to get particularly resourceful at the cottage and rise to the challenge of upcycling food (see previous post for 'Cottage Canape Toasts'). At any rate, a meat pie is an inspired way to use up bits and bobs of vegetables and cooked meat that may be cluttering the fridge. This one used roasted chicken, peas, carrots and red peppers. You'll notice that volumes of the ingredients in the list below are very approximate. That's because, you can really add as much or as little of any thing that you like, including herbs and spices.

Vegetables like peas and peppers don't need to be cooked prior to popping them in the pie crust, but root vegetables like carrots and potatoes need to be mostly cooked before being added to the mix.    

What do you think? Upcycled food....it's the new 100 mile diet.

Ingredients:

- double pie crust ( I used Maple Leaf frozen pie crusts. Hey, I'm at the cottage.)
- about 3 cups of roasted or poached chicken cut into bite-sized pieces
- about a cup of diced par-boiled carrots
- about a cup of frozen peas
- about 1/2 cup of diced sweet red pepper
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 2 tablespoons of flour
- salt and pepper to taste
- about a cup of the water the carrots were boiled in ( or stock or milk)

Defrost the  frozen pie crusts on your counter top.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
 
Combine the meat and chopped vegetables in a large mixing bowl then quickly combine the butter and flour in a small saucepan on the stove to make a roux. (See roux-making instructions below) Add the liquid (vegetable water, stock or milk) to the cooked roux  and whisk until the liquid has thickened. You've just made a white sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste, then pour the sauce over the meat and vegetables and mix well. Pour the mixture into the bottom pie crust and top with the second crust. Crimp the edges of the top and bottom crust together to form a firm seal, then crust a slit in the top of the pie to allow steam to escape while it bakes.

Place the pie on a middle rack in the oven and bake until it's a lovely golden brown. This may take 30 to 45 minutes or longer, depending on the fickleness of your oven. Remember, the ingredients are mostly cooked before the pie enters the oven so baking the pie is all about melding the flavours of the ingredients and getting the crust right.

Roux Making    
To make a basic roux, use equal weights of fat and flour. Butter is the most commonly used form of fat; other fats can be used, but will have a different flavor. Melt the butter over medium heat; slowly add the flour to the butter, whisking constantly. Within 2 to 3 minutes the roux will have a consistency of a cake frosting. A white roux is done when the flour loses its "raw" smell and begins to develop a toasty aroma.