I lately had an epiphany about, of all issues, hen potpie. Just a few weeks in the past, my accomplice and I set out for a stroll into Griffith Park from our residence. Within the temper for adventuring, we began taking each flip we hadn’t earlier than and shortly sufficient we discovered ourselves on the again of a hill, virtually holding onto the vertical edge like rock climbers.
I seemed up and noticed the very prime of the “D” within the Hollywood signal and recommended that we stroll to the signal since we had been already “so shut.” By the point we reached it, we had trekked six miles, had been ravenous and had been very aggravated. To make issues worse, our solely means out was a four-mile hike down the hill.
Add seasoned roux to the combination for the filling of Considerable Hen Potpie.
(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Instances)
We discovered a restaurant on Franklin Boulevard and determined to cease to eat for the primary time all day. And by “determined,” I imply our hobbling legs and numb ft would take us no farther than the primary out there place with empty chairs outdoors.
After we ordered our meals, two large, piping-hot hen potpies had been delivered to the desk behind us. A lady strolling by stopped midstride, took off her headphones and requested one of many guys, “What’s that you just’re consuming?” The client responded, “a hen potpie,” and the lady exclaimed, “it appears so plentiful!” FOMO set in instantly for each my accomplice and me: We wished we had ordered these hen potpies for our weary, drained souls.
I’ve considered an “plentiful” hen potpie ever since, and though it won’t be a dish you assume about this time of 12 months, it may be comforting when morning and evening temps nonetheless hover beneath 70 levels and the skies of early June are gloomy and grey.
Recent greens, herbs and greens are piled into this summery model of hen potpie.
(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Instances)
One of many methods to maintain the potpie from feeling too heavy and wealthy is by packing in additional recent inexperienced greens than in traditional recipes, which, let’s be sincere, haven’t modified a lot in many years. The cooked carrots and peas are my favourite a part of traditional hen potpie, however there are different issues that pair equally effectively with poached hen and seasoned gravy in a flaky pie crust.
Herbs are a straightforward first step. Parsley is a mainstay of the traditional, however I like so as to add greater than typical recipes and likewise throw in dill and chives for his or her greenness and freshness. Swiss chard and sautéed cabbage, whereas each might not scream “summer time,” present further greens that toe the road between mild and bulking — good for a filling equivalent to this. And within the gravy, as an alternative of including cream as many traditional recipes do, I take advantage of milk and stir in a spoonful of Dijon mustard and lemon juice, which additionally helps minimize the load of the dish and perk up the opposite components.
Make the dough for the crust of your pie the day earlier than, so it’s able to be crammed.
(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Instances)
It’s the proper weekend undertaking dish: Make the pie crust on a Saturday morning, poach the hen and put together the filling that afternoon, then convey every little thing collectively and toss within the oven for Sunday lunch or dinner. It’s a veggie-packed pie that feels each comforting and genuinely nourishing — the proper dish to come back again to for leftovers the remainder of the week.
To me, it’s like reaching for these Marie Callender’s particular person potpies — which I admit I really like — within the freezer part to supply instantaneous consolation, whatever the temperatures outdoors. And in transforming a comforting traditional, this hen potpie is worthy of the title that awe-struck passerby gave it.
Get the recipe:
Time4 hours half-hour
YieldsServes 6 to eight