TASTE
Curry your favor with easy chicken pot pie
By Linda Gassenheimer
Knight Ridder News Service
Chicken pot pie gets an intriguing twist with curry powder. Cooked chicken breast — roasted, baked or pan-fried — is used; curry powder is added to the sauce. Use a homemade pastry dough or ready-to-bake pie crust from the supermarket. It's a one-pot meal that takes only 30 minutes to make.
Tip: To shorten the cooking time, sprinkle seasoned bread crumbs (instead of a pie crust) over the ingredients and bake 10 minutes. If you like, open a ready-to-eat bag of salad to go with it.
Wine suggestion: This spicy dish needs a rich white chardonnay.
CURRIED CHICKEN POT PIE
1/2 tablespoon mild curry powder
1 1/2 cups diced onion
1 1/2 cups each diced green bell pepper and green peas
1/4 pound sliced mushrooms (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 pound cooked chicken breast meat, skin and bones removed, cut into bite-size pieces (about 3 1/3 cups)
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large nonstick skillet at medium-high. Add the curry powder, onion, green pepper and mushrooms. Saute 5 minutes. Stir in the flour and then the chicken broth. Simmer to thicken, about 1 minute. Stir in the peas, and salt and pepper to taste.
Place chicken in a deep pie dish or a souffle dish about 6 inches in diameter. Pour the sauce over the chicken and mix well. Place the pie crust over the top, cutting away and discarding any excess. Prick crust with a fork in several places. Bake 20 minutes. Serve immediately.
Makes 2 servings.