Cheddar Crusted Chicken Pot Pie

For the crust:

1. In a food processor place the flour, sugar and cubed butter. Pulse the mixture until the butter is well integrated and it resembles the size of peas. Add your water a tablespoon at a time and pulse in between each tablespoon. You want the mixture to just start to come together. It will almost look like saw dust and when you squeeze some of it together it will stay together and not crumble easily.

2. Once the dough sticks together without crumbling easily remove it from the processor and divide into two equal sized piles. Add an equal amount of the cheddar cheese to each pile and knead the cheese in gently using the palm of your hands. Work the dough into two disks, wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours.

For the filling:

1. In a large saute pan or pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the celery and onion and saute until soft, about 6-7 minutes. You’re not looking for brown here so if they start to brown, turn down the heat or you can add a little chicken stock to help them soften.

2. When the onion and celery are soft add the butter and let it melt completely. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk it together with the butter. This will be what thickens the stock to make the gravy. Once the flour and butter are combined, slowly add in the stock while whisking constantly. Bring back up to a boil for the full thickening power. If this is not as thick as you would like, take a teaspoon of flour and mix it in a small bowl with a little water then add it into the stock mixture. Don’t forget though that it will thicken more while cooking in the oven.

3. Once the stock mixture has boiled, reduce heat to medium-low and add the seasonings and frozen peas and carrots. Let the mixture cook over medium-low for about 5 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in the cooked and cubed chicken. Place in a container and let it cool in the fridge while you roll out the dough.

Assembling the pie:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Remove your disks of dough from the fridge and let them come to room temperature for about 10 minutes. Then roll them out into disks using a rolling pin. You want a size that will fit your pie pan that is about 1/8-1/4 thick, depending on what you like.

2. Place the bottom crust into the pan making sure the crust goes up and over the sides of the pan. Then add the filling. Then add the top crust. Crimp the edges of the dough together with a fork and remove the excess dough. Don’t worry if you have any holes in your dough, just use the extra dough from the edges to patch them up. It will all bake together and look pretty in the end.

3. Brush the top of the pie with an egg wash (1 egg mixed with a little water in a small dish) and poke a couple of small holes for ventilation in the center of the top crust. Bake at 350 F for about 40-45 minutes or until the crust is a golden brown and the gravy bubbles up a little.