I've wondered how coconut oil would work for replacing butter or shortening in things like biscuits or pie crust. Those two things can be kind of particular. It's all about touching the dough as little as possible so your hands don't melt the butter or shortening. But since coconut oil is almost impossible to work with when it's been refrigerated, I was a little concerned I'd finally found something coconut oil couldn't do. Still, I had to try it. I had to know. I HAD TO KNOW.
It works, my dudes. It works really well. I'd dare say it works better than any crust I've made with butter or shortening. Look how well that crust holds up to cutting! That's the real test.
And with my first successful coconut oil pie crust, I decided to make chicken pot pie. My parents had it for dinner the other night when we were visiting and I couldn't get it out of my head. I decided to put my own spin on it and instead of using the traditional peas, carrots, and potatoes, I used asparagus, baby bellas, and carrots. I wanted to use sweet potatoes instead of carrots but we didn't have any sweet potatoes in the potato draw, to my chagrin. I was so chagrined, yall.
Chicken Pot Pie with Coconut Oil Crust
For the crust:
- 2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup coconut oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 2-3 tblsp ice water
For the filling:
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked
- 1 bunch asparagus, chopped
- 1 pkg baby bellas, sliced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 tblsp olive oil
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 tsp sage
- 2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tblsp minced garlic
- salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
To make the crust: In a food processor, pulse flour and salt. Cut in coconut oil and pulse until the oil is mixed in and the flour looks like peas. Slowly drizzle in ice water while pulsing, until a ball forms. Divide the dough in half. On a well floured surface, roll out the dough into two large circles. Place one circle in the bottom of a 9" pie plate. Set the other circle aside until you're ready to top the pie.
To make the filling: Prepare your chicken breasts any way you like. Poaching or baking is the low fat way to go. I lightly fried mine in some olive oil in a skillet with some salt and pepper generously coating each chicken breast. Or use leftover chicken. Or use one of those rotisserie chickens they have prepared at the store. It's your world! Dice the chicken up in a bowl and set aside.
Over medium heat, heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Add garlic and saute for about one minute. Add mushrooms, asparagus, and carrots and stir around for a few minutes until tender. Add flour and coat the vegetables well. Slowly add chicken broth while stirring. Continue to stir the mixture until thickened and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Let simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove lid and add chicken, sage, rosemary, salt and pepper. Cook over heat for about a minute. Pour into prepared pie plate and cover with other half of the pie crust.
Poke holes all through the top of the pie crust using a fork, to let steam out. Bake on 400 degrees for 50 minutes.
Go traditional, go crazy, but please try this crust! I can't wait to try it with apple pie over the holidays! PIE, YOU GUYS! Pie...