- 2
Ingredients
- For the pastry:
- Kosher salt
- 1 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 c. cubed cooked or roasted chicken
- 6 6 6 T. unsalted butter
- 1/2 1/2 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 1/2 1/2 1/2 medium carrot, chopped
- 2 2 2 purple fingerling potatoes, chopped
- 2 2 2 baby zucchini, chopped
- 2 2 2 fresh asparagus spears, chopped
- 1/2 1/2 1/2 celery stalk, chopped
- 2 2 2 oz. mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 1/2 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme
- 1/3 1/3 1/3 c. frozen peas
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 1/2 1/2 c. dry white wine
- 3 3 3 oz. Stilton or other mild bleu cheese
- 3 3 3 T. all-purpose flour
- 1 1 1 c. chicken stock, best with leftover baking juices
- 1 1 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 1/2 1/2 T. flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1/2 1/2 1/2 recipe Cream Cheese Pastry (see below)
- 1 1 1 large egg
- 1 9-inch lb. dough for two 9-inch tarts
- 1 1 1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 3/4 3/4 c. (6 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 1 1/2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
- Method:
- 1 1 1 . In a bowl, blend the butter and cream cheese until combined.
- 2 2 to . Add the flour and work to a smooth dough.
- 3 3 1 to Form into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour, or until firm enough to roll out.
Preparation
Step 1
1. Prepare the Cream Cheese Pastry and refrigerate.
2. Meanwhile, prepare all the vegetables and cooked chicken and stock. Preheat oven to 425˚F. In a large frying pan, melt 3 T. butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sweat until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the carrot, potato, zucchini and continue cooking another 4 minutes. Next, add the asparagus and celery and stir together. Season with a pinch of kosher salt and ground black pepper. When vegetables are becoming slightly soft, add the mushrooms and thyme. Cook until the mushrooms turn brown and begin giving off their liquid. Add the peas and 1/4 c. white wine and scrape any bits that may have carmelized. Add the Stilton cheese and stir to incorporate. Taste again, adjust seasonings (remember you'll be adding stock though, which has varying degrees of salt. Go easy on salt here). Turn off heat when vegetables are softened but still have some texture and set aside.
3. Melt 3 T. butter and the flour in another large saucepan to make a roux. Cook the roux about 2 minutes, until you smell a good nutty aroma and not the raw flour smell. Whisk in the stock and another 1/4 c. white wine, bay leaf, parsley and salt or pepper to taste. Simmer until sauce has thickened, about 3-4 minutes. Add the cooked chicken and stir through to incorporate. Remove the bay leaf. Add the cooked vegetables and stir to mix thoroughly. Transfer to a baking dish to let the filling cool while you roll out and prepare crust.
4. Roll out the dough to a size 1 inch larger in diameter than the baking dish, to a thickness of 1/4". Pour the filling into your vessel. I like using individual French onion soup crocks, they're perfect! Press the pastry dough over the top of the baking vessel and crimp around the edges.
5. Beat the egg with 1 T. cold water and brush the egg wash on the surface of the pastry dough. With a sharp knife, put a few slits in the dough to vent the steam.
6. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the dough has risen and begun to brown. Turn down the heat to 350˚F and bake for another 10-15 minutes until the dough is a deep brown. Remove from the oven and let cool 5 minutes before serving.