Chicken Pot Pie

This is Ina Garten's recipe. Her recipes rarely disappoint me. There were over 500 ratings on this recipe, and the ones that I read were all good. Her pastry recipe is so flakey and buttery, and the filling is really creamy and flavorful. The only thing I changed on this recipe is I did not add the frozen small onions. And I didn't have whole chickens with the bone in, I just roasted 4 chicken breasts. She also did her recipe in individual ramekins, I just did one big pie.

The creamy filling

• 3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone in. (Or 4 chicken breasts roasted)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 5 cups chicken stock
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 cups yellow onions, chopped (2 onions)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups medium-diced carrots, blanched for 3 minutes(To blanch: get a pot of boiling water add carrots to boiling water for 3 minutes, then put carrots in ice water for 3 minutes. Take carrots out of ice water, and set aside.)
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas (2 cups)
• 1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

For the pastry:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup ice water
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 minutes or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle. You will have 4 to 6 cups of cubed chicken.
In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, onions and parsley. Mix well.
For the pastry, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the shortening and butter and mix quickly with your fingers until each piece is coated with flour. Pulse 10 times, or until the fat is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water; process only enough to moisten the dough and have it just come together. Dump the dough out onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Divide dough in half, roll out and place dough into pie pan. Fill pie with chicken mixture, add top crust layer and pinch the sides. Brush top of pie with egg wash, 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water. Make 3-5 slits on top of pie. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.