7 January 2018
Recipe from Cook's Country, December 2014
We have had the ground beef Shepherd's Pie several times, it is a good, hearty, one-dish, cold-weather meal and it holds up well as leftovers. So why not a chicken version? It is lighter than the beef pie and instead of piping mashed potatoes for the topping it used chunks of boiled potatoes to make things simpler.
It took about two hours to prepare this dish. There are quite a few steps though none are terribly difficult. Two pounds of bone-in chicken thighs (4 thighs, 1.8 pounds) are browned in butter. The chicken is removed and onion, carrots are added and cooked. Garlic and fresh thyme are added, white wine (the recipe calls for sherry) is used to deglaze the pan and chicken broth is poured in. The chicken is returned to the skillet, covered, and simmered until its temperature is 175° about 11 minutes. The chicken is removed, allowed to cool, and the meat is shredded. While the chicken cools, 1-inch potato chunks are boiled then seasoned with butter, salt, and pepper. The mixture in the skillet is thickened with a corn starch slurry. Peas, lemon juice, and the shredded chicken are added, the potato chunks are spooned over the surface, and this concoction is baked for about 15 minutes then put under the broiler to brown the potatoes.
We both enjoyed this dish and it worked well as a leftover, we had it for a total of three dinners. It was not as flavorful as the ground beef version and was perhaps a smidge under seasoned. Using potato chunks instead of piping mashed potatoes was a time saver but the potato layer was a little thick and I missed the chives that are used in the mashed potatoes.
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