Growing up in Winston-Salem, NC, the heart of Moravian culture in the South, I ate a lot of Moravian chicken pie. My paternal grandmother cooked them to feed her extended family, as an offering to church fundraisers, as meals for families with new babies and newly departed loved ones. What sets Moravian chicken pie apart from more common pot pies is its simplicity — crust, meat, gravy. Never vegetables.
My embrace of this recipe came later than it might have. Eating local was what brought me around. These days I regularly purchase whole chickens from local farmers and roast them. The leftovers (all the bits pulled off the bones after the first meal of sliced breast has been served) become chicken pie. In a departure from tradition, I add alliums and herbs for flavor (and because I grow them in my garden).
Makes 6-8 servings.
Ingredients
- 1 double pie crust
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 1/3 cup chopped onion
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
- 3/4 tsp. fine sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp. dried sage
- 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
- 1 3/4 cups chicken broth (if you've got homemade, use it!)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3 cups shredded or diced cooked chicken
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425°F. Make pie crust dough. Roll out bottom crust and place in pie plate. Set aside.
- In large saucepan or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring frequently, until tender. Stir in flour, salt, pepper and herbs until well blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk, cooking and stirring until bubbly and thick. Stir in chicken. Remove from heat. Spoon into crust-lined pie plate.
- Roll out top crust. Place dough over filling. Trim, seal and crimp crust edges. Carefully cut out pieces of top crust to provide holes for venting.
- Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. During last 15 to 20 minutes of baking, cover edge of crust with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
