3 split chicken breasts
olive oil
fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
poultry seasoning
4 tablespoons butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 pound pearl onions, peeled and blanched for 4 minutes
4 carrots, sliced and blanched for 2 minutes
1-1/2 cups frozen peas
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
1 pound puff pastry, recipe follows
1 large egg, beaten, for egg wash
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Rinse
chicken breasts and pat dry. Add to baking sheet. Drizzle with oil and
rub all over. Season with salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning. Roast
until juices run clear, about 30 to 40 minutes. An instant-read
thermometer when inserted into the thickest part of the meat should
read 165 degrees F. Let chicken cool until easy to handle. Discard skin
and remove bones. Cut into large cubes.
Heat chicken stock until very hot. Pour a bit of stock into roasting pan to loosen brown bits; add it back into stock.
Melt
butter in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add chopped onion and sauté
until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Add flour and cook,
constantly stirring, for 2 minutes. Pour in hot stock and stir to
combine. Simmer on low, while stirring, until liquid thickens, about 5
minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add cream, cubed chicken, pearl
onions, carrots, peas, and parsley. Mix well to combine. Divide the
mixture among 4 oven-proof bowls.
On a well-floured work
surface, roll out puff pastry to 1/4-inch thick. Cut 4 discs to fit
each bowl. Slash a few vent holes in each disc. Brush the edge of each
bowl with egg wash. Place dough on top. Brush dough with egg wash.
Place bowls on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Bake until
pastry is golden and filling is bubbling, about 40 minutes. Yield: 4
servings.
Puff Pastry
Adapted from a recipe by Michel Richard in Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan.
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups cake flour
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1-1/4 cups ice water
2 cups (4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter
Combine
flours and salt in a food processor. Pulse to aerate. Add the water and
pulse until a ball forms. Remove and form into a disc. Slash the top in
a tic-tac-toe pattern. Wrap in a damp towel and refrigerate for about 5
minutes.
Meanwhile, place the butter between two sheets of
plastic wrap and beat with a rolling pin until about 1-inch thick.
Refrigerate until ready to use.
Unwrap the dough and place on a
well-floured work surface, preferably marble or granite. Flatten and
roll the dough into a large square. Roll the edges thin while keeping
the center thicker. Place the butter in the middle of the dough and
fold over the corners overlapping like an envelope. Press the rolling
pin against the edges, making sure the package is square.
Make
sure the work surface, dough, and rolling pin are well-floured. Roll
the package of dough into a rectangle, three times as long as it is
wide. Brush off any excess flour. Fold the dough in thirds, up from the
bottom and down from the top, like a business letter. Rotate the dough
counter-clockwise so that the closed fold is to the left.
Roll
the dough into a rectangle again, and fold into thirds again. The
second turn is now complete. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate
for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Repeat again twice, wrap, and
refrigerate. Then repeat again twice to equal six folds. Wrap the dough
in plastic and refrigerate until ready to use. Leftover dough can be
wrapped in plastic and frozen. Defrost before using. Yield: 2-1/2
pounds pastry.
-Recipe courtesy of Joseph Erdos at Gastronomer's Guide