Author: Susan Murray, www.awomancooksinasheville.com
Ingredients
For the Pie Crust
2 ½cflour
1tspsalt
1/3ccold butter
¾ccold Crisco Shortening
½ice water
For the Filling
2cdiced chicken
8-10small brown mushroomscleaned and quartered
2tbspbutter
2medium carrotssliced
1cupfresh or frozen peas
1/3cbutter
½small onionchopped
1clovegarlicminced
3-4fresh sage leaveschopped
1/3cflour
1 ½tspsalt
2tspdried thyme
1 ¾cchicken broth
2/3cream
1eggbeaten
Instructions
Make the pastry.
Put the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse it 2-3 times to mix. Dice the butter and add it with the chilled shortening to the flour. Pulse for 7 seconds or until it has the texture of sand. With the motor on slowly drizzle in the water until the pastry starts to stick together. Add up to ¼ c more water if needed but don’t get it too wet. Remove the pastry from the processor and knead lightly. Separate into two equal sized balls, flatten them into ovals and wrap with plastic wrap. Let rest in the refrigerator for at least two hours.
Make the filling.
Melt 2 tbs butter in a sauté pan until bubbling up. Add the mushrooms and cook them, stirring occasionally, until they are browning around the edges. Remove and set aside.
Melt 1/3 cup butter in the same sauté pan. Add the onions, garlic, carrots and sage and cook over medium heat until the onions are translucent and the carrots are starting to soften.
Whisk in the flour, salt and thyme. Add the cream and broth and continue to whisk until all lumps are gone. Bring it to a simmer and let it simmer until quite thick. You should see the bottom of the pan when you draw a spatula through the sauce.
If you are doing this in advance, cover and refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the pie.
Assembling the pie.
Bring the gravy to room temperature if you made it in advance.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Roll out one of the pie crusts to a circle about 3” larger than your pie pan. Place the dough in the pan. Toss the chicken together with the peas and mushrooms and spread them on top of the crust in the pan. Pour the gravy over the chicken mixture and spread with a spatula if needed. Roll out the second disk of pastry and place on top of the pie. Seal the edges of the crust and make one or two small cuts through the pastry. If you would like a decorative effect, use a knife to lightly score the pastry as well, being careful not to go through the pastry to the filling below. Brush the top pastry all over with the beaten egg.
Bake for 35-40 until golden brown and the filling is bubbling up through the holes in the crust. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10-15 minutes before cutting into the pie.