Quick and Easy Chicken Pot Pie

What's quick and easy to cook, yet nutritionally-balanced and yummy to boot? (Operative words being "quick" and "easy") It's chicken pot pie complemented with a salad bed of fresh crisp greens.

It's Chicken Pot Pie complemented with a bed of fresh crisp greens and a glass of fresh kalamansi juice.
 (Caveat : You'll need some store bought frozen puff pastry on hand, otherwise, forget about "quick" and "easy"!) 

Just the thing when you've got about an hour plus preparation time and expecting some company for a quick lunch.  I was looking forward to a lunch visit from my childhood friend and her family who were making a pitstop at my place en-route to Singapore.  They were bringing their gorgeous 8-month old twins for their first visit back to her hometown in Ipoh, a town about 2 hours drive north of Kuala Lumpur and were now on their way back to Singapore. As it's a 4 to 5 hour drive south from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, I didn't want to prepare anything too heavy or loaded with too much carbs out of  consideration for the driver. A full belly and heavy lids are not the best combinations for a long, afternoon drive!


The Ingredients (Serves 4)

From top left (clockwise): Swiss button mushrooms and a sprig of fresh thyme,  sliced leeks, cubed chicken meat and chopped celery 

1 chicken breast meat and 1 whole chicken thigh, deboned and cubed
2 celery sticks
200g fresh swiss brown button mushrooms
2 stalks of leek
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
250 ml of fresh chicken stock
1/3 cup of heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon of fresh thyme
1dried bay leave
Freshly grated black pepper and salt to taste
Grated nutmeg (optional)
1 tablespoon of oil
1 tablespoon of butter (optional)
2 tablespoons of plain flour

Storebought frozen puff pastry sheets (this is why it's quick :))


Methodology in Pictures

First, marinate the cubed chicken pieces with a teaspoon of sea salt and then dust with 2 tablespoons of plain flour

Heat up a pan/wok with a tablespoon of oil and a tablespoon of butter.

When oil/butter is heated up, gently sautee the garlic and chopped leaks for a minute or 2.

Add in the marinated chicken and toss it around with a spatula for a few minutes before including the mushrooms.

Throw in all other ingredients ( you may use any other vegies - carrots, potatoes or peas) . Cook for a few minutes

Include your chicken stock, thyme and bay leave and let stew simmer for a 5-7 minutes. The bay leave and thyme adds a subtle yet aromatic flavor to the dish.

Mix a table spoon of plain flour into 20 ml of water and thicken the stew.  Season with salt and black pepper. Grate in some nutmeg .(just a little - less than a pinch). Check for taste.

Include the thickened cream at the end

Remove the bay leave and thyme sprigs. Fill up 4 oven proof ramekins with the chicken stew leaving no less than an inch from the brim of the dish.

Cut squares from your puff pastry sheet large enough to drape over your ramekin as shown in the picture.

Preheat your oven at 200 degrees celsius and bake for 15 minutes or when crust is golden browned and all puffed up.

The finished product ... it's fun as you can dress it up any way you like, with any old salad combinations you like!

Hearty Tomato and Red Pepper Soup

This preparation is adapted from one of my Family Circle soup books with some infusion from Jaimie Oliver's tomato soup recipe in which he uses roasted red peppers.

I particularly like this version of tomato soup with the roasted peppers as it adds more depth and sweetness into the flavor of the soup as opposed to a straight, direct- in-your-face sour tang you get from using mainly fresh tomatoes.  The addition of avocados for that extra creaminess was inspired by the tales of an old friend who had her soup served with sliced avocados in one of her trips to the US.

Coupled with some pesto bread (see http://joopuseats.blogspot.com/2011/01/pesto-bread.html for the pesto bread), this dish makes for a hearty, wholesome meal rich with lycopene and antioxidants.

Recipe (Serves 5-6) :

Ingredients for grilling/roasting (A):-

1 kg of ripe red tomatoes

2 large red capsicums or red peppers

1 bulb of garlic

1 medium size onion

For cooking:

1 dried bay leave

600 ml of chicken stock/broth or vegetable stock/broth

2-3 tablespoons of grapeseed oil or olive oil

For garnishing:

1 ripe avocado 

Heavy Cream

The mechanics of it :

1) Coat the ingredients in (A) above in some olive oil and grill in a preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes until it looks like this..

2) The red sweet peppers may be grilled until the skin is black, then placed to rest in a bowl before peeling off the skins, removing the seeds and chopping up the flesh. 

3) Remove the skins of the onions and garlic and chop those up too.

4) Place the tomatoes in a bowl and chop them up too using a pair of kitchen scissors (it's less messy this way as opposed to trying to chop them up on a chopping board - and risk splashing the mushy juices everywhere)

5) Warm up a pot with 3 tablespoons of oil, add a pinch of salt and slowly fry the soft pulps of the chopped up roasted garlic, onions and red sweet peppers slowly for about 3 minutes.

6) Then add the roughly chopped up tomatoes and cook until you get a blended mushy mixture.

7) Add the chicken or vegetable broth and a bay leave - simmer for 15 minutes.

8) Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Remove and discard the bay leave. Blend well with a handblender until desired consistency is achieved. Place unto stove to reheat, taste and season once again if necessary.

Serve with sliced avocados, a twirl of heavy cream and sprinkle generously with some freshly grated black pepper - and voila!

Tip: To prevent the avocados from discoloring, squeeze some lemon over the avocados.