Southwest (style) Chicken Pot Pie

seriously, the only picture i took.... to busy tasting

I grew up eating chicken pot pie for dinner on a regular basis. My mother's pie crusts are legendary and she added a little curry in her chicken filling. I have never been able to replicate her pastry, and consequently never attempted her pot pie recipe, after all a flaky pie crust is at least half of the enjoyment of this dish.

Recently we visited friends in Santa Fe and I brought home a few jars of locally roasted green chiles. At first I thought to try my hand at posole, but found myself wanting something creamier and richer. The final result is what I'm now referring to as a Southwest Chicken Pot Pie. Instead of pastry I baked it with a cornbread top crust. I made this a few weeks ago for a luncheon on a cold winter afternoon and everyone went back for a second helping - which, if you've ever been to ladies' luncheon, you know is a good sign.



Southwest Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoon olive oil

1 yellow onion diced

2 ribs celery diced

1 cup frozen corn
1 potato diced (not to worry, it will cook completely during the baking process)
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp oregano
1.5 tsp cumin powder (you can add more if you like a stronger flavor)

1/2 lb chorizo sausage
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon cornmeal or masa

2 cups chicken stock (I try to use homemade, but storebought is fine too)

1 medium rotisserie chicken, about a pound or so of meat - pick as much of the breast and thigh meat as you can from the bird. 

1 cup black beans (rinsed if from a can)

4oz roasted green chiles

1 1/4 cup half and half 

Salt and Pepper

1 box cornbread mix - make batter according to direction on the box, set aside until needed.

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Place a large pot (large enough to contain all the ingredients above) over medium heat.
Add butter and oil.
Once butter is melted, add onions and celery.  Sautee until onions are translucent, and celery has softened.
You may need to add a splash of chicken stock to deglaze the pot from time to time. 

Add the corn, potatoes, garlic and cook a minute more.  

Season with cumin and oregano.
While continuing to stir, sprinkle the cooked vegetables with the flour, a little bit at a time. The mixture should start to thicken immediately.  

Add the chicken stock, 1 cup at at time. The mixture should eventually resemble a thick soup. The chicken stock will also reduce a bit during this process.  

Add the cream, and bring to a boil for just a few moments.

Reduce the heat.

Add the chicken.  You can continue to add chicken stock and/or the half and half if the mixture gets too thick.  It will also thicken a bit during the baking process so you don't want it to get too pasty yet.

Add the beans and chiles, mixing until everything is combined.  

Taste for salt. Add salt and pepper as required to taste.

Transfer the chicken mixture to an oven proof pan, pie plate, or baking pot.... I used a souffle dish.  

Spoon the cornbread batter over the top of the chicken mixture.  

Bake at 350 for 50 minutes (the cornbread might look done before it actually is.  If it starts to get too brown you can cover the top with foil).  Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

You can and should certainly serve this w/ sour cream and cilantro, a squeeze of lime... definitely cilantro.