Boys of Cooking

If you have some cooked meat and broth available, skip this step and continue with the crust, below.

Place in saute pan

• 1 onion, thickly sliced
• ½ tsp salt

placing

• 4 chicken thighs on top of onion slices

add

• 3 cups water

Bring to a boil, reducing heat to maintain a low, gentle simmer and cook ♦ATTNcovered for 30 minutes. Remove chicken, reserving liquid, and let cool. Discard onion pieces. Strain liquid and measure: add water to bring amount to 3 cups. Discard chicken skin and bone the chicken meat, cutting into bite-size chunks.

Continue from this point if you already have cooked meat and broth available. Make the crust now so that the corn meal will have time to hydrate fully, otherwise the crust may have a gritty texture.

In a mixing bowl, combine

• scant ¼ cup cornmeal
• 1 cup flour
• ¾ tsp salt

Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in

• ½ cup shortening

When mixture resembles coarse crumbs, sprinkle with

• ⅓ cup ice water

♦ATTN1 TBL at a time, mixing with a fork in each area where you sprinkle. Add only enough water for the dough to bind together. Cover the ball of dough in the refrigerator while you complete the filling. It’s best if the dough rests for 20-30 minutes.

Slice and saute on high heat:

• 2 TBL oil
• 8 ounces white mushrooms

cooking until well colored. Set aside. In the meantime, dice

• 2 medium (or 1 large) turnips
• 1 parsnip
• 3 medium-sized or 2 large carrots
• 1 large onion

In a large (12-inch) skillet, heat

• 1-2 TBL olive oil

and saute vegetables for 10 minutes. Then add

• 1 pound potatoes, peeled and diced
• ½ tsp salt

Continue cooking for 10 minutes stirring often. Stop cooking while vegetables are still a bit crisp, especially the potatoes. Add

• chicken meat (1 pound or whatever you obtained from cooking the chicken thighs)
• 5 ounces frozen peas

Spoon into a baking dish or gratin pan. Generally this is about the size of a 13- x 9-inch baking pan or a decorative dish. The pan should hold all the mixture with a bit of room to spare; broader is better because you get more crust surface.

In a small bowl, combine until smooth

• ¼ cup flour
• 1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425º F. In a large saucepan, heat

• 3 cups chicken broth
• ¾ tsp chicken base or 1 chicken bouillon cube
• ¼ tsp ground pepper
• ¾ tsp salt

to a boil. Then add the milk mixture. Stir until it thickens. Stir sauce and pour over chicken/vegetable mixture in the baking dish

Roll it out on a floured surface into a shape about 2 inches bigger than the top of the baking dish. Position over filling, folding the 1-inch overhang into a flute. Brush crust with

• Milk or 1 beaten egg

♦ATTNCut slits in top of crust. Place on a cookie sheet to catch any drips and transfer to the oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes until crust is golden brown and filling is hot and bubbling. You may need to cover the edge of the crust with foil to prevent over-browning. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.