chicken pot pie soup
with crust crackers
Chicken pot pie is one of my favorite things on God’s green earth. Same goes for Dad, whose Twitter is 99 percent reviews of frozen pot pies and includes a header background of his personal favorite, the $0.99 Swanson version. I love soup, so I wanted to make one inspired by chicken pot pie, without, you know, having to make a pot pie. But I neeeeeed, I crave, that crust. The crust that I crack and mix into the creamy filling—the golden brown edges I save for scooping up the corners of the ramekin. So why not have it all? We decided to make a single slab of crust and break it up so that Every. Single. Bite. Can be scooped up with the crust I so desire.
This needs to be in some sort of hall of fame. It needs a ribbon in the county fair, its own show on TLC.
They will literally put anything on television.
ingredients
for the pie crust
2 sticks (8 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cubed
2½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
½ cup ice water
for the soup
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups whole milk
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
1½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste
1 large russet (Idaho) potato, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
½ pound diced carrots (2 cups)
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen pearl onions
¼ pound deli ham, thinly sliced
1 pound skinless rotisserie chicken meat, cubed (3 cups)
½ cup heavy cream
steps
MAKE THE PIE CRUST:
You might think the butter is cold, but after you cube it, put it back in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
In a food processor, pulse the flour and sea salt until incorporated.
Add the cold butter and pulse until just pea-size pieces of butter remain, 15 to 20 pulses.
Add the ice water and pulse until a dough just forms, 15 to 20 pulses.
Dust your work surface with some flour.
Turn the dough out of the processor bowl and gather the dough into two 5-inch discs and wrap in plastic wrap.
Freeze one of the discs for another use (it will last for weeks in the freezer if you wrapped it nice and tight).
Chill the other dough disc in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (you can keep the dough in the fridge for up to 2 days).
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Place the dough on a piece of parchment paper.
Using a floured rolling pin, roll the disc into a 12-inch round (it doesn’t have to be perfect).
Prick it all over with a fork.
Put the dough, with the parchment, on a baking sheet and bake until golden and crisp, about 30 minutes.
Cool thoroughly and break into pieces.
MAKE THE SOUP:
In a saucepan, bring the broth and milk to a simmer and keep at a simmer.
In a big soup pot, heat the butter over medium-high heat until foamy.
Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the flour, reduce the heat to medium, and cook, stirring, until toasty and foaming, 2 to 3 minutes.
Whisk in the broth-milk mixture, slowly at first, then add the salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.
Add the potato, carrots, peas, pearl onions, and ham and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
Stir in the chicken and cream and heat through for 5 additional minutes.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with the broken pie crust on the side.
