The ultimate comfort food- brings me back to the days where we would throw a Marie Calendars in the microwave and anxiously await the grueling 5 minutes before diving in and instantly burning my mouth. But have you ever looked at the ingredients? 610 calories, 75g saturated fat, 950mg sodium… and it doesn’t get better from there. But damn they are good (see the bottom for a nutrition side-by-side and have your mind blown!). Where do I even start?
- 1 Pie Crust
- 12oz Turkey or Chicken
- 1 Onion
- 3 Carrots
- 3 Stalks Celery
- 1 Medium Parsnip
- 1 c Green Peas
- 1 tbs butter
- 1/4 c Olive Oil
- 2 c Coconut Milk
- 1 1/2 c Chicken Broth
- 1/2 c Wheat Flour
- Seasoning: 1/2 tbs Poultry Seasoning, 1 tbs Italian Seasoning, 1 tbs Everyday Seasoning, 1/2 tbs Garlic, 1 tsp ground Thyme, 1 tsp Pepper, 2 tsp Salt (also whatever fresh herb I have on hand)
After comparing a plethora of recipes, I decided store bought dough is the way to go. I could make them homemade, but this dish already takes hours so this is one way to reduce the cook time. Usually Sprouts or Trader Joes have the best options for pronounceable/cleaner ingredients. BUT- these pie crusts are seasonal so word to the wise, when that season comes around, buy many and freeze them so you can enjoy pot pie at any time of the year.
Pot Pie has potatoes in it, but there isn’t shortage of carbs in this dish, so I cut those and use parsnips instead. Parsnips have carbs but less and it’s a great way to sneak vegetables in the dish. In fact, this pot pie is loaded with vegetables: carrots, peas, parsnips, onion, celery. So, if you have picky eaters they will never know. I cut them small, so they cook through faster and are easier to hide.
Now gravy is always tricky because its fatty. It has milk, which has fat and lots of sugar. My secret? I use coconut milk. Check this, VitaCoco: 40 calories and 0 grams of sugar compared to the 130 calories and 12 grams of sugar in one cup of 2% milk. I also use half coconut milk and half chicken stock, further reducing the calories and sugar. And last but not least, I use whole wheat flour, works the same as white flour just has more nutrition.
Now last but not least, the protein. I love turkey but you can always use chicken, turkey can be hard to find during certain times of the year. But as you will quickly discover, I am a Sous Vide all the way and if you are not using one, you are missing out (see my Sous Vide Creations post) I highly recommend adding it to your kitchen arsenal. It’s as easy as a crockpot and you are guaranteed incredible perfectly cooked meat every time.
Start with the protein, slab whatever fresh herb you have (I love thyme and rosemary) salt, pepper, Italian seasoning. Throw it in a bag with fresh garlic, a drizzle of olive oil, and put in the bath to cook until perfection. It typically takes about 2 hours depending on the meat. I try to use bone in whenever possible, I save the bone and make bone broth for my pups. They are spoiled. You can also air fry or bake the protein.
Once your meat is in its nice bath (or oven or whatever method you used), you can focus on the gravy- the most important part of the dish. Start by throwing all the veggies besides the peas (add those last) in a pan and sauté with olive oil, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and poultry seasoning. The carrots and parsnips will take a little time to get tender, but after about 5 minutes, you will see them loosen up a bit and start having fun. Now add the flour in the veggies slowly, this is essential because we DO NOT want clumpy gravy. From here, slowly add the milk and chicken broth, stirring incessantly but not vigorously. You will notice it will thicken up, then go ahead and throw in the peas, dice the protein, mix it all up and we have ourselves a party. I usually pour the juice from the bag the meat cooked in. I let this sit for about 5-10min so that the protein can infuse flavor in the gravy and vice versa.
This is the point I would start pre-heating the oven.
Now assembly time, we throw it all together. Roll out the dough, I prefer it thinner because it can go a long way and you get nice crispy crust. You will notice I prefer to do strips in place of a whole ‘top’ of the pie, you can do either. I think the strips are much easier and prettier. I usually get two individual pies of pot and a tray for the week.
Once you got your pie covered in dough (if you cover the whole thing, slate the middle so it can breathe while cooking). Take 2 whisked egg yolks and brush the top of the pie, this will help ensure that the crust gets nice and golden brown.
From here, your little pie friends are ready for their oven debut. Toss them in the oven at 350 and bake for 30-40min. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before consumption. Or if you are like me, dive right in and burn your mouth.
Now lets look into nutrition, keep in mind this is in total.
Crust: 1,520 calories, 104g fat, 16g sugar, 136g carbs, 16g protein
Veggies (total): 260 calories, 3g fat, 16g sugar, 42g carbs, 6g protein
Gravy (milk/flour/oil): 880 calories (mainly from Olive Oil), 48g fat, 2g sugar/carbs, 12g protein
12 oz Turkey: 640 calories, 64g fat, 0 sugar/carbs, 248g protein
In total this whole pie has 3,260 calories, 221g fat, 34g sugar, 234g carbs, 282g protein
For me this is 12 servings, which comes in at an incredible 272 calories, 18g fat, 3g sugar, 20g carbs, 24g protein
Can you believe that? Now I can enjoy this dish while significantly cutting the calories and fat. And keep in mind this is mostly unsaturated fat. What a win indeed.
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