When I graduated from college I high tailed it to Los Angeles, it was and still is my favorite city.  I lived down the street from the Farmer’s Market off of 3^rd Street.  My good friend Sara and I used to love going to Du-Par’s in the Farmer’s Market.  They have good, old-fashioned, food made with fresh ingredients, and their pies are delish!

A couple of years ago Sara gifted me an “L.A.’s Original Farmer’s Market Cookbook.”  I love it, especially the recipe for Du-Par’s Chicken Pot Pie.  We had it for dinner the other night and it was so good, I had to share the recipe.  It’s labor intensive, but well worth it.

From “L.A.’s Original Farmer’s Market Cookbook.”

Chicken Pot Pie

Serves 4

1 small whole chicken (about 2 ½ pounds)

*I used two chicken  boneless, skinless breasts, but you could also use a rotisserie chicken

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

3 carrots, diced, trimmings reserved

2 celery stalks, diced, trimmings reserved

1 small onion, diced, trimmings reserved

¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

Fresh ground pepper

½ cup all-purpose flour

1 large potato, peeled, diced, and cooked (about 2 cups)

¾ cup frozen peas, thawed

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 frozen puff pastry sheet, thawed

1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Instructions:

Put the chicken in a large stockpot and pur in 8 cups of cool water.  Add 1 teaspoon of salt along with the reserved trimmings from the carrots, celery and onion.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Simmer, uncovered, until the chicken is just cooked through, about 45 minutes, skimming often as oil rises to the surface.  Transfer the chicken to a cutting board to cool.  Continue to cook down the chicken stock for another 10 minutes to condense the flavor, until reduced to 4 cups. (You could also save time by using a low-sodium chicken broth.)

Strain the stock through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl or measuring cup and discard the solids.  When cool enough to handle, shred the chicken meat into-bite-size-pieces; discard the skin and bones.  Transfer the chicken to large bowl.

Preheat the oven to 400°F.  Have ready 4 two-cup oven proof crocks or ramekins (I chose to use a pie plate, and make one large pie).

In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the carrots, celery, and onion; season to taste with salt and pepper.  Cook and stir until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.  Sprinkle the vegetables with the flour and cook and stir until the flour dissolves, about 2 minutes.

Gradually whisk in the chicken stock, stirring constantly to prevent lumps.  Simmer and whisk for 10 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken; it should look like cream of chicken soup.

Mix in the cooked potato, peas, parsley, and shredded chicken.  Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper.  Simmer for a minute or so, stirring here and there, until all the ingredients are well combined.  Remove from heat.

Place the puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface and unfold it.  Using a rolling pin, roll it out slightly.  Cut the pastry into 4 equal squares.

Divide the chicken mixture among the crocks and ramekins.  Cap each ramekin with a pastry square, pressing the dough around the rim to form a seal.  Brush the pastry with the egg wash.  Place the pies on a baking pan and transfer to the oven.  Bake until the pastry is puffed and golden, about 20 minutes.  Let cool slightly before serving.