I roasted the chicken in this recipe before I placed it in the pie. This extra step really makes a positive impact on the final result. Here is what you need to do for this:
• Heat oven to 425 degrees.
• Rinse and pat dry 6 chicken thighs. Place them in a cast iron pan or roasting pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper – on both sides.
• Scatter 6 smashed garlic cloves, 6 thyme sprigs and 1 large lemon, sliced around the pan. Place in oven and roast chicken for about 35 minutes.
• Thaw ½ cup of peas.
• While the chicken is roasting, bring 4 cups of chicken stock to a boil.
• Add 1 large carrot, cut into sticks and cook for a couple of minutes. Remove carrots from pot and place in a bowl of ice water.
• Add 10 quartered asparagus spears (get rid of tough ends) and cook for 1 minute. Remove from stock and place in bowl with carrots.
• Add 10 quartered green beans. Cook for 2 minutes and remove. Place in the ice water with the other vegetables. Set chicken stock aside.
• Remove chicken from oven when it is cooked. Reduce heat to 375 degrees. Cool down a bit and discard lemon slices, garlic and thyme. Get rid of the chicken skins and shred the meat as soon as it cools enough to handle.
• Thaw a puff pastry sheet at room temperature.
• Discard all but 3 TBS of the chicken rendered fat in the pan. Heat the pan and add 2 TBS flour. Mix flour and fat well, making sure to scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes and whisk in the remaining chicken stock. Whisk vigorously until all lumps disappear.Bring gravy to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes until sauce is thick and reduced by 1/3.
• Drain cooked vegetables and place in a bowl with the chicken. Add the peas. Gently fold in the gravy. Season with pepper and add 2 TBS chopped parsley. • Place chicken and veggies in a pie or tart pan. Cover with rolled out puff pastry. Don’t cover it too tightly as the dough will shrink. Make small slits on top.
• Beat an egg with a splash of water and brush top of pie.
• Bake pie for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and serve. Enjoy