I was never really a fan of Chicken Pot Pie, at least not until I became half South African. In South Africa pot pies are eaten like we eat sandwiches...or burritos. You can find them EVERYWHERE and they are delicious. The the savory pies come in more variety than we get here. You can find curry pies and mince pies, chicken and liver, etc etc. Unfortunately, the best part of the pie is often the crust. For obvious reasons I am no longer able to indulge in such crispy on the outside, warm and soft on the inside scrumptiousness. So when I saw this post on Health-Bent I had to try it.

Almond Crusted Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients

• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 2 parsnips, peeled and diced
• 1  red onion, diced
• 1 small bunch fresh collards, any other green will work too (4-5 cups chopped, stems removed)
• 8 oz mushrooms, chopped
• 1-2 T fresh thyme
• 1 lb leftover chicken
  
• 2 T coconut oil
  
• 3 c chicken stock
• 1 T arrowroot flour
  
• s&p

For the Crust

• 4 egg whites (save the yolks for dessert)
  
• 1 c almond flour
• 1 t baking powder
• 1 t salt
• ⅓ c butter (I used pastured butter, but think coconut oil would work well too)

Method

Heat pot and add 2 T coconut oil and all of your peeled, diced veg (carrot, parsnip, onion, collards, mushrooms, thyme) to your pot and cover. Trapping the steam will help cook down your vegetables. Stir occasionally until all vegetables are cooked through and collards are almost finished cooking. Your collards should be wilted down and soft with a slight bite still to them. This will take 10-15 minutes. Now add the stock. Bring this up to a simmer and let the veg and collards cook a little longer, about 5 minutes. Add your chicken in. The arrowroot flour is going to be your thickener. To prevent it from clumping, add  1 T of flour to a small bowl along with 1-2 T water. Whisk or stir with fork until all lumps are gone and then add to the pot. Stir this through and reduce the heat until the mixture reaches a thickness that looks right for pot pie filling.

Remove this from the heat and add to any oven safe bake-ware (pyrex, stoneware, etc.). You could use ramekins and make individual pot pies here. Try to choose a size that will be filled to the brim by your mixture. However, this is not essential.

For your biscuit topping...

Let the butter (or coconut oil) get slightly softened and add it to your mixer bowl with the almond flour, salt and baking powder. Mix until evenly distributed. If you don't have a mixer, do this with a fork. Now add your egg whites to the mix and stir to combine. Keep this mixture in the fridge if you make it ahead. When you're ready to bake just top your pot pie veggie mixture (ramekins or other) with the dough. Bake at 400 F for 12-15 minutes until the top(s) is/are golden brown.

The taste of the topping is great, but the texture and the crisp can't even come close. Oh well. Make up for it with this amazing dessert:



Blue Berries over Zabaglione

Ingredients:

4 egg yolks (leftover from above recipe)
a glob of honey (this could be omitted)
1/4 cup sherry

Method:
Place the egg yolks and the honey in top of a double boiler and place on top of the bottom of the boiler. The water should be lightly boiling and the should not be touching the bottom of the top of the boiler. (You can also use a bowl over a pot of boiling water. )

Use a wire whisk and whip the mixture until it is foamy. Then add the sherry and continue to cook the mixture until it is nice and thick, the consistency of custard.

Serve the zabaglione immediately. This dish looks quite elegant served in long stemmed wine or parfait glasses. Serve with berries.

Enjoy!