Chicken Stew with Herbed Biscuits

On Sunday morning, my neighbour, Carmen was over having coffee. As we chatted, we were looking through some of the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks. We came across the "chicken stew with biscuits" recipe, and we both agreed that it was the perfect day for a comforting dinner like that. Icy, snowy, and cold. Carmen suggested we pool our resources and have dinner together and I was quick to jump at the idea. I love the idea of really good recipes inspiring get togethers. I wanted to try it, she wanted to try it; let's have a party!

The stew turned out beautifully. The biscuits were my favourite part. They were crisp on the outside and warm and soft on the inside. I made sure not to over-mix the biscuit dough and we were rewarded with the perfect winter's dish. My sister mentioned that she made biscuits recently and was careful to not over-mix hers as well. She said that she could see little chunks of butter in the dough, and that is exactly what you want. The same goes for any scone recipe. The less handling, the better. I think Lori said that she made the biscuits to go with soup, one night when she had run out of bread. Quick and easy and what a treat. In similar circumstances, I usually turn to the Buttermilk Skillet-Sizzled Cornbread (Nov. 2007).

When I worked at Meinhardt Fine Foods in Vancouver, we made several batches of chicken pot-pies every week. We used the 3 or 4-inch individual pie shells and scooped the chicken pot-pie mixture into the shell. Then we piped (using a large piping bag) mashed sweet potatoes on top of the tart and baked them for probably around 40 minutes in a 350 degree oven, until the bottom of the tart shell was cooked. You could use this idea with the chicken stew mixture below. I like this method because instead of having a pastry top on your pot-pie, you get all the goodness of sweet potatoes. My friend Tracy, who also worked in Meinhardt's kitchen, still makes these and freezes them for easy dinners. I should really try to think back to some other recipes from the kitchens of Meinhardt's. Their gourmet-to-go was unbelievably busy and I know for a fact, that while Tracy and I were there, the food was very good (if I do say so myself...)!

Chicken Stew with Herbed Biscuits

6 chicken breasts, cooked, and cubed into bite-sized pieces (without the skin), between 4 to 6 cups
5 c. chicken stock, preferably homemade but use what you have
1 T. chicken bouillon (or two bouillon cubes)
12 T. butter (1 1/2 sticks or 3/4 cup)
2 c. chopped onions
2 c. chopped leeks, washed well
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. heavy cream
2 c. carrots, cut in coins, blanched in boiling water for 2 minutes
2 c. frozen peas
1/2 c. minced parsley

For the Biscuits:
2 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
1 t. kosher salt
1 t. sugar
1/4 lb. cold unsalted butter, diced
3/4 c. half & half cream
1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley
2 T. chopped fresh chives
1 egg mixed with 1 T. water, for egg wash

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions and leeks over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 t. salt, 1/2 t. pepper, and the heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, and parsley. Mix well. Place the stew in a 10x13x2 inch baking dish. Place the baking dish on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the biscuits. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas (don't mix for too long!). Add the cream and combine on low speed. Mix in the parsley. Dump the dough out on a piece of parchment paper on the counter. With your hands, pat the dough gently into a circle, until it is about a 1/2-inch thick. Cut the circle into 8 triangles.

Remove the stew from the oven and arrange the triangle biscuits on top of the filling. Brush them with the egg wash, and return the dish to the oven. Bake for another 30 minutes, until the biscuits are brown and the stew is bubbly.

*The Barefoot Contessa says that if you are making the stew in advance, refrigerate the stew and the biscuits separately. Bake the stew for 25 minutes, then place the biscuits on top, and bake for another 30-35 minutes, until done.

*The Barefoot Contessa calls for using frozen small whole onions; I think she means pearl onions. Unfortunately, I have never found frozen pearl onions in Canada. She uses them in quite a few dishes and I wish they were available here. Because I didn't have any, I used the leeks instead, adding lots of flavour and a little more colour to the stew.