Read The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook Online
Authors: The Editors at America's Test Kitchen
Tags: #Cooking
The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (160 page)
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
For a streamlined chicken pot pie recipe, we poached boneless, skinless breasts and thighs in chicken broth, which we then used as the foundation of a full-bodied sauce. We opted for the traditional vegetable combination of onions, carrots, and celery and sautéed them separately to preserve their texture. To add chicken flavor to our chicken pot pie’s sauce, we stirred a butter-and-flour roux into milk and the poaching liquid and used sautéed mushrooms, soy sauce, and tomato paste to enhance its savory character. Sweet, bright green frozen peas required no precooking—just a stir into the filling. Every chicken pot pie recipe—even a speedy one—needs a crisp, buttery top, so we settled on a “crumble” crust. It was a snap to prepare, and a quick stay in the oven before topping the pot pie with it made sure the savory crumble crust cooked through and crisped up once baked on top of the pot pie.
SERVES 6
This recipe relies on two unusual ingredients: soy sauce and tomato paste. Do not omit them. They don’t convey their distinctive tastes but greatly deepen the savory flavor of the filling. When making the topping, do not substitute milk or half-and-half for the heavy cream.
FILLING
1¹⁄ | pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts and/or thighs, trimmed |
3 | cups low-sodium chicken broth |
2 | tablespoons vegetable oil |
1 | onion, chopped fine |
3 | carrots, peeled and sliced ¹⁄ |
2 | small celery ribs, minced |
Salt and pepper | |
10 | ounces cremini mushrooms, trimmed and sliced thin |
1 | teaspoon soy sauce |
1 | teaspoon tomato paste |
4 | tablespoons unsalted butter |
¹⁄ | cup all-purpose flour |
1 | cup whole milk |
2 | teaspoons lemon juice |
3 | tablespoons minced fresh parsley |
³⁄ | cup frozen peas |
CRUMBLE TOPPING
2 | cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour |
2 | teaspoons baking powder |
³⁄ | teaspoon salt |
¹⁄ | teaspoon pepper |
¹⁄ | teaspoon cayenne pepper |
6 | tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ¹⁄ |
1 | ounce Parmesan cheese, grated fine (¹⁄ |
³⁄ | cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream |
1. FOR THE FILLING:
Bring chicken and broth to simmer in covered Dutch oven and cook until chicken is tender and cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to large bowl. Pour broth through fine-mesh strainer into liquid measuring cup and reserve. Do not wash pot. Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees.
2. FOR THE TOPPING:
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne in large bowl. Sprinkle butter pieces over top of flour. Using fingers, rub butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Stir in Parmesan. Add cream and stir until just combined. Crumble mixture into irregularly shaped pieces ranging from ¹⁄
2
to ³⁄
4
inch each onto parchment paper–lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake until fragrant and starting to brown, 10 to 13 minutes. Set aside.
3.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in now-empty pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion, carrots, celery, ¹⁄
4
teaspoon salt, and ¹⁄
4
teaspoon pepper; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 5 to 7 minutes. While vegetables are cooking, use 2 forks to shred chicken into bite-size pieces. Transfer vegetables to bowl with chicken; set aside.
4.
Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in again-empty pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add mushrooms; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms have released their liquid, about 5 minutes. Remove cover and stir in soy sauce and tomato paste. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring often, until liquid has evaporated, mushrooms are well browned, and dark fond begins to form on surface of pan, about 5 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to bowl with chicken and vegetables. Set aside.
5.
Melt butter in again-empty pot over medium heat. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in reserved chicken broth and milk. Bring to simmer, scraping up any browned bits, and cook until sauce thickens, about 1 minute. Off heat, stir in lemon juice and 2 tablespoons parsley, then stir chicken mixture and peas into sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6.
Pour chicken mixture into 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Scatter crumble topping evenly over filling. Place pot pie on aluminum foil–lined rimmed baking sheet and bake until filling is bubbling and topping is well browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon parsley and serve.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Chicken enchiladas are a labor of love—the multistep process and traditional cooking methods require an entire day in the kitchen. We wanted to make enchiladas in 90 minutes from start to finish. We first saved time preparing the tortillas by spraying them with vegetable oil (rather than dipping them in hot oil) and warming them on a baking sheet in the oven. For the sauce, we ditched the dried chiles, instead using a blend of chili powder, cumin, and coriander, and sautéed the spices with the aromatics for fuller flavor. To save even more time, we cooked boneless, skinless thighs right in the sauce. Pickled jalapeño and fresh cilantro added complexity to our filling without much work.
SERVES 4 TO 5
If you prefer, Monterey Jack can be used instead of cheddar or, for a mellower flavor and creamier texture, try substituting an equal amount of farmer’s cheese. Be sure to cool the chicken filling before filling the tortillas; otherwise, the hot filling will make the enchiladas soggy.
SAUCE AND FILLING
1¹⁄ | tablespoons vegetable oil |
1 | onion, chopped fine |
3 | garlic cloves, minced |
3 | tablespoons chili powder |
2 | teaspoons ground coriander |
2 | teaspoons ground cumin |
¹⁄ | teaspoon salt |
2 | teaspoons sugar |
12 | ounces boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed and cut into ¹⁄ |
2 | (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce |
³⁄ | cup water |
¹⁄ | cup chopped fresh cilantro |
¹⁄ | cup jarred jalapeños, chopped |
8 | ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (2 cups) |
TORTILLAS AND TOPPINGS
10 | (6-inch) corn tortillas |
Vegetable oil spray | |
3 | ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (³⁄ |
³⁄ | cup sour cream |
1 | avocado, pitted and cut into ¹⁄ |
5 | romaine lettuce leaves, shredded |
Lime wedges |
1. FOR THE SAUCE AND FILLING:
Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic, chili powder, coriander, cumin, salt, and sugar and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add chicken and cook, stirring constantly, until coated with spices, about 30 seconds. Add tomato sauce and water, bring to simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through and flavors have melded, about 8 minutes. Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer into bowl, pressing on chicken and onion to extract as much sauce as possible; set sauce aside. Transfer chicken mixture to plate; place in refrigerator for 20 minutes to cool, then combine with cilantro, jalapeños, and cheddar in bowl and set aside.
2.
Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees.
3. TO ASSEMBLE:
Spread ³⁄
4
cup chili sauce evenly over bottom of 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Place tortillas in single layer on 2 baking sheets. Spray both sides of tortillas lightly with vegetable oil spray. Bake until tortillas are soft and pliable, 2 to 4 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. Place warm tortillas on counter and spread ¹⁄
3
cup chicken filling down center of each tortilla. Roll each tortilla tightly and place in baking dish, seam side down. Pour remaining chili sauce over top of enchiladas and spread into even layer so that it coats top of each tortilla. Sprinkle cheddar down center of enchiladas and cover tightly with aluminum foil.
4.
Bake enchiladas on lower rack until heated through and cheese is melted, 20 to 25 minutes. Uncover and serve immediately, passing sour cream, avocado, lettuce, and lime wedges separately.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Enchiladas verdes feature tender pieces of chicken wrapped in soft corn tortillas topped with melted cheese and a bright-tasting sauce made from fresh green chiles and tangy tomatillos. But this restaurant favorite can be hard to re-create at home. Broiling poblano chiles and tomatillos concentrated their flavor and promoted charring, thus closely replicating the results achieved from using a comal (a traditional cast-iron vessel that imparts smokiness and concentrates flavor). A few pulses in the food processor kept our sauce pleasantly chunky, while a little chicken broth thinned it just enough. To keep our recipe streamlined, we poached quick-cooking chicken breasts and shredded the meat, to which we added pepper Jack cheese and chopped cilantro to round out the filling. Spraying the tortillas with vegetable oil before baking kept them pliable and easy to use.