Jack-o'-Lantern Chicken Pot Pie: Flaky Carved Crust over Creamy Chicken and Vegetables

Heat the oven to 400F (200C). Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and cook the onion, carrots and celery 6 minutes until softened. Add the mushrooms and cook 5 minutes more until they release their liquid and brown lightly.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 sheets store-bought puff pastry or 2 pie crusts, thawed
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3 cups shredded cooked chicken (rotisserie works well)
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, 1 tsp fine salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water, for the egg wash
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, for an orange tint on the crust

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 400F (200C). Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and cook the onion, carrots and celery 6 minutes until softened. Add the mushrooms and cook 5 minutes more until they release their liquid and brown lightly.
2. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir 1 minute to cook off the raw taste.
3. Gradually whisk in the stock, then the milk, scraping up any browned bits. Simmer 4 to 5 minutes until the sauce thickens enough to coat a spoon.
4. Stir in the chicken, peas, thyme, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then spoon the filling into a 9-inch round deep pie dish or oven-safe skillet.
5. Lay one sheet of pastry over the filling, trim to a 1-inch overhang, fold under and crimp the edge. Brush with egg wash.
6. From the second pastry sheet, cut two triangle eyes, a triangle nose and a wide jagged grin, and press them gently onto the top crust so the dark filling shows through the cutouts as the face. Cut a small stem shape and a few curved ridge lines from the scraps and attach them with egg wash.
7. Brush the whole top again with egg wash, then whisk the smoked paprika into the remaining egg wash and dab it over the pastry for a pumpkin-orange glow.
8. Bake 30 to 35 minutes until the crust is deep golden and the filling bubbles through the grin. Rest 10 minutes before serving so the filling sets.
9. Chicken pot pie descends from the meat pies of medieval England, but it became an American comfort-food institution in the twentieth century when frozen versions appeared in every supermarket. The carved jack-o'-lantern crust borrows from the Irish tradition of carving turnips into lanterns, which immigrants swapped for the far easier native pumpkin. Carving the face into the crust lets the steam escape exactly where you want it, so the pastry stays crisp and the filling stays saucy, which makes this the rare Halloween dinner that is as practical as it is festive.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 610 kcal
• Protein: 32g
• Fat: 34g
• Carbohydrates: 44g
• Fiber: 4g
• Sugar: 6g
• Sodium: 890mg