Cozy Chicken Pie

There’s no getting around it. It’s February in Maine. Cold, bleak, and slushy. We desperately need comfort foods like cozy chicken pie. This recipe is sort of a hybrid. It is neither a shepherd’s pie nor a pot pie – neither, or, is it both? I hope you like it. Definitely use chicken thighs and try this turnip-infused potato top – they add creaminess without weight. Not that this is a light dish, but what does it matter now. I’m tucking in, under a down comforter on the couch, snacking on butter and caramels, and hibernating until spring.

Cozy Chicken Pie

Ingredients

• 4 turnips, peeled and cubed
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 medium-size potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 5 tablespoons butter, cubed
• 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 1 sprig of rosemary, chopped
• sage leaves, chiffonaded
• 1/2 an onion, minced
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup dry white wine

Method

Step 1: Boil turnips and potatoes together in salted, sugared water for twenty minutes, drain and mash with 4 tablespoons butter, season with black pepper to taste.

Step 2: In a hot skillet flavor oil with rosemary, then brown chicken, three thighs at a time, seasoned with salt, pepper, and sage. Let it rest then cut into small cubes. Deglaze the pan with wine. Return chicken to the pan over low heat.

Step 3:  Melt a tablespoon of butter in a small pot over medium heat and cook the onions until softened, about five minutes, stir in peas and broth, reduce heat and simmer for another five minutes. Combine with cubed chicken.

Step 4: Remove the chicken and vegetable mixture to a casserole dish and spread potatoes over the top. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes, finish under the broiler to brown, about ten minutes.

Tagged as: casserole, chicken, comfort food, mashed potatoes, winter

About the Author: Jillian Bedell

Jillian grew up in Connecticut, went to university in Boston, college in New Haven, did some post-grad soul searching in New York, exiled herself to Mexico, married her longtime sweetheart, and lived in a house on the ocean. She suspected Maine might be the perfect place to raise a family, so she came back home to New England two years ago. Now a mom to Violet Maeve and living in Rockland, where she hopes to settle for a good, long while, Jillian reads, writes, walks, and practices Nia, when not watching Malcolm photograph sandwiches.