Chicken Pot Pie & Black Pepper Biscuit Crust

For the chicken pot pie filling:
Cut each of the mini potatoes in half and add to a small pot. Cover with water, and cook over high heat until the potatoes are fork tender. This should take about 10 minutes but will depend on the size of the potatoes. When they are fork tender, drain and set aside.

In a large frying pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots, and mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and the vegetables are slightly tender. Stir in the garlic and cook for an additional minute.

Whisk in the chicken stock, sage, thyme, poultry seasoning, parsley, salt, pepper, peas, whipping cream, and 1/2 cup milk. Bring the mixture up to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 6 – 7 minutes.

Cut the potatoes into quarters and add them to the pan. Add the cooked chicken.

In a small bowl, mix 1/4 cup milk with the cornstarch to make a slurry. Add the slurry to the pan and bring it back up to a boil. Stir constantly and simmer until the mixture thickens. Remove from the heat and place the filling into 6 to 8 individual serving size ramekins (depending on the size you have) or an 8″x12″ baking dish.

For the black pepper biscuit crust:
Add the lemon juice to the milk, stir, and set aside.

In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, pepper, salt, and parsley. Use a cheese grater to grate the butter into the flour mixture. You must work quickly before the butter softens. If it becomes too soft to grate, put the butter into the freezer for a few minutes before grating. Once the butter has been added, use a spoon to gently distribute it into the flour.

Add the lemon juice/milk mixture and gently stir to combine it into the flour. Do not over mix. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and use your hands to shape it into a flattened disk shape. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough to 3/4″ thick.

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Cut out biscuits with a cookie cutter to fit the size of your ramekins. If you’re using an 8″x12″ baking dish, cut enough biscuits to fit on top of the filling. Do not twist the cookie cutter when cutting out the biscuits. Instead, push the cutter straight down and then pull straight up. This will ensure that your biscuits rise up when baking.

Use a pastry brush to brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter, then sprinkle with additional coarsely ground black pepper. Bake for 20 minutes or until the biscuits are golden on top.