All-The-Leftovers Pot Pie — Food Waste Feast

Apr 26

Apr 26 All-The-Leftovers Pot Pie

Allium, Heartier Greens, Hero Recipes, Legumes, Meat and Seafood, Other Veggies, Root Vegetables, Stems+Stalks+Buds+Flowers, Veggies That Are Fruits

leftovers pot pie with chicken broccoli stems parsnip and peppers

My go-to Hero Recipe for leftover chicken is always pot pie. My daughter loves everything with puff pastry, which means I can throw in all the vegetables in the fridge and she’ll happily consume it all. This version has onions, half a wrinkly bell pepper, half a dried-out watermelon radish, a lone parsnip, and four peeled broccoli stems that I had saved from a previous meal. Put it all together with a leftover rotisserie chicken and you’ve got a hearty dinner beloved by everyone in the family. I even used up a cup and a half of leftover tomato soup because I ran out of chicken stock. Weird, I know, but my daughter ate a whole bowl, vegetables and all. Parents of young kids - you know that’s a serious victory.

The Rough Recipe

Here’s what you need:

1 sheet puff pastry or pie crust, thawed and unrolled

2 tablespoons butter, olive oil or your fat of choice, plus more as needed

1 medium onion, chopped

4 cups mixed vegetables, such as root vegetables, stems or stalks, or more alliums or aromatics

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon minced fresh herbs, such as thyme, oregano or rosemary, if desired

¼ to ⅓ cup flour, depending on how thick you like your sauce

2 ½ to 3 cups stock

4 cups cooked chopped or shredded chicken, turkey or meat of your choice

1 egg, beaten, or a splash of olive oil for brushing the pastry

Here’s what you do:

Heat your oven to 400 degrees. I like to use a skillet for this to do it all in one pan, but sometimes will transfer the filling to a baking dish, like in the photo above. If you’re using a skillet, test to see if the pastry fits over your pan of choice (it should be oven-safe and roughly 9- or 10-inches wide) and if not, roll it out wider with a sprinkle of flour. (It’s ok if there are hanging edges or square corners hanging off a round skillet; a bit of extra pastry helps keep the entire crust from slowly slipping off the skillet edges and drowning under the gravy).

Heat your fat of choice in the skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and the other vegetables plus a large pinch of salt, a few grinds of pepper and any herbs. Cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently, adding a bit more fat as needed if the pan seems very dry. Once the vegetables have softened, sprinkle the flour over the pan, stir to mix everything thoroughly, and cook until the flour is completely incorporated and starting to brown a bit on the bottom of the pan, about 3 minutes. Add 2 ½ cups of stock, stir and scrape the bottom, then let simmer and thicken for 5 minutes or so. If you want it saucier, add the remaining ½ cup of stock. Once the sauce has reached the consistency you find appealing, remove from heat and stir in the meat. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper as needed.

sauteeing onions peppers parsnips broccoli stems and radishes

Carefully drape the pastry over the top of the skillet, letting any extra dough hang over the sides. Lightly whisk the egg with a small splash of water and brush over the top of the crust. Poke a few slits or holes in the top to let steam escape and place in the oven. (If the skillet is overflowing, place it on a baking sheet to save yourself having to scrub out your oven) . Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the filling is thick and bubbling (if the pastry gets too dark, you can cover it with foil or lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees).