torta salata "nella pentola" con pollo / chicken pot pie revisited

"antique" pot pie (partially cut)

This is my first experience with pot pies. As far as I know, we don't have a name for it in Italian: torta salata nella pentola is the literal translation (pentola is Italian for pot). For my rendition, I used a small soufflé dish.

This pot pie was inspired by Susan The Well-Seasoned Cook, who after Thanksgiving suggested to use leftover turkey to make a pot pie. There was no turkey on our table on Thanksgiving: I cooked other dishes, a story for another day. I called my pot pie "revisited" because I honestly wasn't very attracted by the concept of pot pie until Susan's suggestion made me revisit my attitude — and with good results!

But her suggestion immediately sparked the idea of turning leftovers into something new and appetizing. Here is what I used:

• leftover roast chicken (pollo arrosto), mostly breast, diced
• leftover zimino di fagioli
• some "alternative" puff pastry (pasta sfoglia "alternativa")

I basically assembled the ingredients and put the result in the oven.

zimino di fagioli

Leftover zimino di fagioli + leftover roast chicken =

= the pie filling

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Take a 4 1/2-inch soufflé dish and add leftover zimino di fagioli. Do not overfill the dish.

Add some leftover roast chicken, mostly breast, diced and stir it in.

Take 1/4 of  the amount made by the recipe for "alternative" puff pastry (about 3 oz. / 83 g), roll it and use it to cover the dish, sealing well around the edge. (While I have not tried making the recipe with regular puff pastry, I don't see why it would not work with it.)

Make some egg wash: Lightly beat one egg with a tablespoon of water. Apply some egg wash to the puff pastry surface and put the dish in the oven. Bake until the surface is nice and golden (25 minutes or so). Let rest a few minutes before serving. The recipe makes a big portion or two small ones.

I took a number of photos of both pot pies I made when I took them out of the oven, and none of them was good enough. The nicest photo was taken after I had made a small cut on the surface to reveal the filling.

I am submitting this post to the November edition of Monthly Mingle that has Pot Pies as theme. The event was created by Meeta of What's For Lunch, Honey? and is hosted this month by Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook.

This post contains the roundup of the event.

Click on the button to hear me pronounce the Italian words mentioned in the post:

torta salata "nella pentola" con pollo

or launch the torta salata "nella pentola" con pollo audio file [mp3].

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pot pie, beans, chard, mushrooms, chicken

Comments

[Alicia (foodycat)]

I'm not really a fan of pot pies. If it doesn't have crust on the bottom it isn't a pie!

[Lynne]

I think many pot pies had recent incarnations before they were mixed in a sauce and topped with a crust. Your leftovers look delicious as a pot pie!

[Simona Carini]

Hi Alicia. I can see how not having elements in the expected place can be upsetting. Fortunately, the name pie does not evoke emotional connections in me, so I am ok with the name.

Thanks, Lynne! It would be interesting to retrace the steps of the dish to see how it evolved over time.

[Sally]

Simona, I love your Italian take on the pot pie. It is my son's favorite dish--and I always make it for him when he comes home from university or on a special occasion. My version is more traditional American, but either way, pot pies are comfort food and even good 'company' food.

[Lori Lynn]

Hi Simona ~ it looks so homey and comforting. And delicious too.
LL

[Susan]

Glad you revisited the idea of pot pies, Simona. Your leftovers leave me wanting a pot of my own.

Thank you for taking the deep-dish plunge for Monthly Mingle.

[A Canadian Foodie]

Completely different than our chicken pie on the Alberta Prairies, but love that about it! Cannot wait to try!
:)
V

[My Italian Smörgåsbord]

it's great the idea of combining, not one but two types of leftovers to make a pie. so smart and delicious, something our great-grandmothers might have done too :)

[Simona Carini]

Thanks for sharing your personal story about pot pies, Sally. Now, when I hear you saying that your son is coming home, I will imagine you baking a pot pie for him. I will probably venture into making a bigger one to share with guests.

Hi Lori Lynn, definitely!

I am glad too, Susan. I was really a bit intimidated, but your suggestion put me on the right track.

Valerie, I suspect my Italian twist on beloved pot pie would puzzle people used to the traditional one.

I agree, Barbara. I am very keen on using up everything when I cook something and I like the idea of mixing dishes to get something sort of new, if I think that the union may work.

[Frank @Memorie di Angelina]

The creative use of leftovers is almost a religion for me. I hate to throw food away and, in fact, sometimes the recycled version is even better than the original! Pot pies are one of the best war horses for this class of cookery. I'm glad you posted on this—it's too bad that leftover cookery is so neglected, both in cookbooks and in food blogs (including my own, I have to admit!)

[Simona Carini]

Thank you so much for your note, Frank. I agree with you that there is room for additional discussion on this topic with creative solutions. Today I harvested some beets and one thing I plan to do soon is to talk about using every part of the plant. And I agree with you that often the creatively used leftovers end up being better than the original dish.