Chicken, Kale & Artichoke Pot Pie

Oops, I did it again.  I took a perfectly good recipe and added...KALE.  I know.  I have a problem.  I should consider seeking professional help.

It's just that whenever I am cooking, I can hear the kale calling to me from the fridge.  It says: "wouldn't that be better with kale?".  Sometimes the kale is wrong.  Kale does NOT actually make Brown Butter & Bourbon Blondies better.  Nor does it improve the flavor of a Raspberry Rosewater Gin Rickey.  But sometimes, the kale is right!  In this case, adding kale to a chicken and artichoke pot pie recipe worked out great!



This recipe was originally going to be a very different recipe.  Saturday was Australia Day, and my boyfriend Ben (who is Australian) and I really wanted to throw some tucka on the bah-bie and crack a couple of stubbies...have a true blue, ridgey-didge S'trayia Day.  Ahem...sorry about that...what I am trying to say is that we were planning to cook something on the barbecue.  No, not shrimp (Aussies hate it when you ask if they cook shrimp on the BBQ), beer can chicken.  I was even going to make damper and lamingtons.

Alas, our plans were sidetracked when this happened:

I'm thinking we should have put something under the chicken to collect the juices.  What do you think?

On to plan B...Pot pies!  I am not calling this post Australian anymore.  Aussies love their meat pies but this is miles from an Aussie meat pie.

I have eaten my share of savory meat pies, but this one takes the...pie?  It is creamy, rich, delicate...not the words I would normally use in description of a meat pie!  It is packed with chicken, artichoke hearts and, of course, kale.  It is flavored with a Parmesan cheese, and a hint of lemon zest and nutmeg.  This was a pretty darn delicious 'plan B'.

  Chicken, Kale & Artichoke Pot Pies (makes 6 pot pies)

• meat from half a rotisserie chicken, diced in 1 inch cubes (see above for how NOT to cook)
• 1 liter chicken stock
• 2 chicken bouillon cubes
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 1/2 cups coarsely chopped yellow onion (2 medium onions)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
• 2 tbsp heavy cream
• 4 cups of marinated artichoke hearts (from a 1 L bottle), drained and chopped coarsley.
• 4 cups (110g) of kale, washed, dried, sliced into ribbons.  Remove stems.
• 1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp fresh lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
• salt & pepper

• pie crust
• 1 large egg + 1 tbsp water (egg wash)

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart


Preheat oven to 375 F.  Combine chicken stock & bouillon in a medium sauce pan.  Bring to a boil, stirring until bouillon is completely dissolved.  Remove from heat and set aside.

In a separate, large pot, melt butter over medium heat.  Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and translucent (around 10 minutes).  Add the flour, stirring to coat the onions.  Add the reserved chicken stock, simmering until slightly thickened.  Add up to 1/4 cup more flour if needed.

Add cream, artichoke hearts, kale, parsley, Parmesan, lemon zest and nutmeg.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir until Kale is well coated with the liquid.  Cook a few minutes until kale is wilted.

Divide the mixture between six 5 1/2 inch ovenproof bowls.  Roll out pie dough to 1/8 inch thick.  Drape over one of the ovenproof bowls, trimming the dough so it sits 1 inch below the top.  Repeat with the rest of the bowls.  Brush tops with egg wash.

Bake until crush is golden brown, which was around 45 minutes in my oven.  Martha recommends 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

Notes:  Make sure to place a cookie tray under the bowls!  The pie will bubble over and burn on the bottom of the oven otherwise.

I used this pie crust recipe, which was flaky and delicious (and easy).

I actually made 2 pot pies, and used the rest of the filling to make one 9" pie (make sure you put a cookie sheet under this as well!).  Works great as both.