Healthy (ish) French Chicken Pot Pie (with Allison!)

Collaborations have quickly become one of my absolute favorite things. To have local friends who love cooking, sharing, and creating content (AND care for their health) means that I must get to know them. It’s been so refreshing to get into the kitchen with a new friend, but also to share it with many of you.

Thanksgiving can be a stressful time of year for many because of the amount of unhealthy food that comes with Thanksgiving dinners, but I do believe there is a way to put a healthy ish spin on everything. You can easily swap out ingredients for better choices. For this we took a recipe and added in more vegetables, used organic cream and grass-fed butter, and we used gluten free flour. We still kept in the puff pastry, but honestly, I’m really learning to embrace the balance of using processed foods every now and again. Just like portion sizes, foods are about moderation, listening to your body, and not stressing over it all.

This entire cooking experience for me as a learning experience, as I have never made roux before (and burnt it the first time). And while I don’t each chicken, I do believe everything in moderation and taht sourcing is key. Choose meats without antibiotics and always choose grass-finished and grass-fed if you can find it.

If you need healthy dessert recipes, check out my desserts page for a ton of options. I also created a beautiful vegetable spread for Thanksgiving a few years ago that is clean and beautiful.

No matter what you do this Thanksgiving, remember that it’s not all about the food. It’s about your relationship to yourself; about being in the kitchen with your friends, family, and loved ones. It’s about the reminder to have gratitude for all the things in our lives, including the beautiful food that we get to prepare and the bodies that we get to use every single day.

So happy early Thanksgiving. Part 2 (the sides) are coming next week. 🤎

XO, Bethany and Allison

Ingredients:

• 1 organic rotisserie chicken, shredded (we boiled our own chicken with oregano and shredded it)

• 2 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 large shallots, thinly sliced

• 5 carrots, coined or diagonally sliced

• 5 celery stalks, thinly sliced

• 2 tbsps organic, grass-fed butter or ghee

• 3 tbsps Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Gluten-Free flour

• 1/4 cup dry white wine

• 1 tbsp dried tarragon

• 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock

• 1/2 cup organic heavy cream (coconut cream also works great)

• 1 Tbs. freshly chopped parsley and some for garnish

• 1/2 cup organic frozen peas

• 2 puff pastry sheets, thawed and cut into small rectangles; we used Dufour Pastry Kitchens Classic Puff Pastry for a cleaner version but still easy to make)

• 1 egg, beaten for a glaze

• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Recipe:

• Preheat your oven to 375. If cooking the chicken yourselves, boil just covered in water and oregano until cooked through.

• Vegetables: In a large cast iron skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the shallots, carrots and celery and sauté about six minutes until they are soft and brown. Season with a pinch of coarse salt. Take the veggies out of the skillet and put in a bowl, covering to keep them warm.

• Roux: Place the skillet back on the stovetop. Melt the butter or ghee over medium heat. Once the butter starts to foam, add the flour and whisk until it’s smooth and becomes a golden brown color, which takes less than one minute. Then add the white wine and tarragon. Let it bubble while you whisk another 30 seconds. Continue whisking while you season with a pinch of salt and pour in the chicken stock, forming a smooth sauce. Add in the heavy or coconut cream cream and whisk another 30 seconds. Turn the heat down to low and let it simmer and gently bubble for ten minutes, then season generously with salt and pepper.

• Pie: After this simmers, add the vegetables, shredded chicken, frozen peas and parsley and stir until covered with sauce. Remove from the heat.

• Topping: There is not bottom to this pastry. All you have to do is arrange the rectangle puff pastry shapes on top of the pot pie so that it overlaps in some of the places. We went from the outside in, forming a nice circle. Brush the tops with the beaten egg, then place into the oven and bake 40 minutes until the pastry is golden brown on top and puffs up. Ours went really tall and it so beautiful!

• Once out of the oven, let it rest about 10 minutes before cutting. Top with fresh parsley and cut right from the pan. You and your entire family will LOVE it, and we also love the rustic look of it.

Enjoy. 🖤