Brazilian style chicken pot pie.(Empadao de Frango)

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This savory chicken pie is a staple in my country, and this particular recipe was passed over to me by my mom and I am proudly passing it down to you. I hope you enjoy this delicious and comforting Brazilian style chicken pot pie.

Serves 10 to 12

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Ingredients

  • Ingredients for dough:
  • 3 sticks of butter at room temperature
  • 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 cup for top
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Ingredients for filling:
  • 1 1/2 pound bone-in chicken breast
  • 1 pound bone-in chicken thighs
  • 5 to 6 cups of water
  • 1 large garlic clove, roughly chopped
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Salt
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 3 rosemary sprigs, chopped
  • 3 tablespoons corn starch
  • 4 tablespoons tomato paste
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 cup frozen sweet corn (optional)*
  • 1 cup frozen sweet peas (optional)*
  • 1 cup black olives, chopped (optional)*
  • 1 cup hearts- of-palm (optional)*
  • 1 cup scallions, chopped

Preparation

Step 1



Filling – Add chicken breast and chicken thighs to a large pan; cover with the water and add the garlic, and bay leaves. Season with salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook partially covered until the chicken is cooked through, about 1 hour.

Remove chicken from pan and let it cool down completely. Strain the broth and save it; you should have about 4 cups of broth left.

Discard any skin and bones from chicken; shred into small pieces. Do not use a food processor.

In a large sauce pan, heat the canola oil. Add the onion and cook until translucent, 3 minutes. Add the rosemary and chicken and cook for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add 3 cups of the reserved broth to the pan. Dissolve the corn starch in the remaining cup of broth. Reduce heat to medium and slowly add the corn starch to the pan, constantly stirring. Add the tomato paste and cook for about 3 more minutes, stirring.

Season with black pepper. Turn off the heat and fold in the frozen corn, peas, olives, and hearts-of-palm. Finish with scallions and add more salt if necessary.


Directions:

Dough – Place butter, all-purpose flour, egg yolks, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and mix it well until all ingredients are well-incorporated. Do not knead the dough; it is not supposed to be really smooth. Cover and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Cover the bottom and sides of a 10-inch cheesecake pan. Start pressing the dough on the bottom slowly moving it up and to the sides. Press the dough until really thin, about 1/8-inch thick. Remove the excess and save it. Make tiny holes all over the surface with the help of a fork

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. Slowly add 1/2 or up to 1 cup of all-purpose flour to the remaining dough and crumble it. The more flour you add the less moist the top will become, so it depends on personal preference.

Place chicken filling in the pan, leaving about 3/4-inch room on top. Cover it with the dough crumbles and bake for about 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Remove from oven and let it cool down for 10 minutes before serving. Serve it warm or at room temperature.

For convection oven bake at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

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