Sunday Dinner: Chicken Pot Pie Edition

It seems like everywhere I've turned lately, I've come across recipes for chicken pot pie. Magazines, blogs, they all seem to be focused on this particular dish of late. I guess it makes sense-- chicken pot pie seems like a good candidate for cold weather fare. After pursuing a number of recipes, I decided to give Faith Durand's (of The Kitchn) version a try. With fennel and lemon as main ingredients/flavors and a biscuit (rather than pastry) crust, I thought hers might be a more interesting take on things.

 The verdict? The flavors were great-- loved the fennel, loved the lemon, and loved the white wine sauce. But something was not right about the biscuit crust. I followed the recipe to a "t" but it didn't get all light and puffy as I had thought. I wonder if I made it too soon in the process and the dough got dried out. I don't know. Next time I think I will swap out half of the potatoes for carrots for a little variation (and color) but all in all it was a good meal, perfect for a casual winter evening. One thing to note--this is definitely a weekend meal. From start to finish it took about 2 hours to make. But it makes a ton so we'll be eating it at least one other time this week.

Lemony Chicken Pot Pie with Parsley Biscuit Crust
Adapted slightly from Faith Durand

Ingredients:

For the biscuit topping:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped fine
1/4 cup butter, cold, cut into pieces
1/2 cup milk

For the chicken:
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/4 cup flour
Salt and pepper
Olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 fennel bulb, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1/2-inch chunks (Or 1/2 potatoes and 1/2 diced carrots)
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup frozen peas

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.
2. Prepare the biscuit dough. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and parsley in a medium bowl. Add the cold butter and work it in with your fingers or pastry blender until the flour mixture resembles soft bread crumbs. Add the milk, stirring until the dough just comes together. Set aside.
3. Cut the chicken breasts into large bite-size pieces. Toss the pieces in a bowl with the flour and salt and pepper. Set aside.
4. Heat a generous drizzle of olive oil in a large Dutch oven or saute pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and brown for 6 minutes, turning halfway through. Remove chicken with slotted spoon and set aside (it won't be cooked through yet).
5. Reduce the heat to medium. Add onion, fennel, and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook for a few minutes. Add white wine, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer, scrapping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
6. Add broth and chicken and season with salt and pepper. Let the mixture simmer for 5-7 minutes until the liquid starts to thicken. Add frozen peas.
7. Laddle the stew into the prepared baking dish. Drop the biscuit dough across the top. Bake, uncovered, for 35-40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked and the biscuit topping is golden brown. Serve.