Today’s Recipe: Pastor’s Pie

Ever heard of Pastor’s Pie? Aiming to please, the women of a congregation would deliver to their pastor one of their prize-winning best. His favorite, as it turns out, involved a chicken and a Dutch oven pot …

This recipe is the stuff of Little House on the Prairie. First, she butchered a chicken and stoked the coals in her fireplace. After setting the chicken to roasting, she harvested a few more vegetables from her backyard garden. Finally, she topped the “pie” with a buttery biscuit top. Oh, and in addition to all that, she probably milked the family cow and whipped up a batch of butter, saving the buttermilk for the biscuit top. What pastor wouldn’t be impressed?

PASTOR’S PIE
PREP TIME: 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES PLUS 1 HOUR COOLING TIME
COOK TIME: 1 HOUR 20 MINUTES
MAKES: 8 SERVINGS

Ingredients:

1    4-5 lb whole chicken
5    garlic cloves
1½  onions, divided
1    celery bunch bottom
2    t salt, divided
1½  t pepper, divided
2    T olive oil
2    cups celery, sliced
4    carrots, sliced (about 2 cups)
2    T cornstarch
1    T cold water
2    cups peas

Biscuit Topping:

1 1/3  cups Budget Mix
3       T butter
2/3    cup buttermilk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Remove the giblet package from the inside of the chicken.
3. Stuff the cavity of the chicken with 5 whole, unpeeled garlic gloves, half an onion, and the bottom portion of the celery bunch.
4. Rub the outside of the chicken with salt and pepper.
5. In a 5-quart lidded Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat for 2 minutes.
6. Place the whole chicken into the Dutch oven and sear both sides for 5 minutes each.
7. Remove the Dutch oven from heat, cover and bake breast side down at 450°F for 1 hour, or until internal temperature of the legs reaches 160°F.
8. Once the chicken is cooked, remove from oven and allow it to cool for 1 hour.
9. Once the chicken has cooled, remove it from the Dutch oven. Leaving the pan drippings inside the Dutch oven.
10. Preheat oven to 450°F. Remove all of the meat from the chicken and cut it into small pieces.
11. Over medium heat, reheat the pan drippings inside the Dutch oven.
12. Coarsely cut remaining onion and add it to the pan. Then add sliced celery. Allow mixture to cook for 5 minutes, then stir in the sliced carrots, and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
13. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and water. Slowly pour the cornstarch into the Dutch oven, and cook until mixture has thickened.
14. Add the diced chicken, peas, salt, and pepper to the Dutch oven. Stir to combine.
15. To prepare the biscuit topping, add Budget Mix to a medium bowl, and cut in butter. The mixture should resemble coarse crumbs. Pour in buttermilk and stir to combine.
16. On a lightly floured surface, roll out biscuit dough to ¼” thickness. Use the Dutch oven lid to make a depression in the dough to make a topping that fits perfectly over the top of the pie.
17. Bake at 450°F uncovered for 20 minutes, or until biscuit topping is golden brown.

Gather ingredients.

Chop up 1 bunch of celery.

Place 5 unpeeled garlic cloves inside chicken.

Place ½ onion inside chicken.

Place the celery bunch bottom inside the chicken.

Top the chicken with 1 t salt.

  Then ¾ t pepper.

Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a 5-quart Dutch oven, and heat over medium high heat for 2 minutes.

Once the oil is hot, place the chicken into the Dutch oven. Sear for 5 minutes. Flip the chicken over and sear the other side for 5 minutes.

Cover and bake the chicken with the breast side down for 1 hour. Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the oven and allow it to cool for 1 hour.

While the chicken is cooling, prepare the remaining ingredients.

½   onion
2    cups celery, sliced
4    carrots, sliced (about 2 cups)
2    T cornstarch
1    T cold water
2    cups peas
1    t salt
¾   t pepper

Biscuit Topping
1 1/3  cups Budget Mix
3       T butter
2/3    cup buttermilk

Once the chicken has cooled, remove all of the meat and dice it. Over medium heat, reheat the pan drippings in the Dutch oven.

Add the remaining half of the onion.

Add 2 cups of sliced celery.

Stir to combine and cook for 5 minutes.

Add 4 carrots, or about 2 cups sliced.

Stir to combine and cook for 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix together 2 T cornstarch
and 1 T cold water.

*When shopping for cornstarch, look for organic or non-genetically modified cornstarch.

Slowly pour the cornstarch into the Dutch oven.

Cook until the broth has thickened, then add the diced chicken.

Add 2 cups peas.

Add remaining 1 t salt.

Then the remaining ¾ t pepper.

Stir to combine.

To prepare the biscuit topping, add 3 T butter to 1 1/3 cups Budget Mix.

Using a pastry blender, cut butter into the Budget Mix until it resembles coarse crumbs.

Pour in 2/3 cup buttermilk.

Stir until the dough forms a ball.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the biscuit dough to ¼” thickness.

Using the lid of the Dutch oven, make a depression in the dough.

Cut around the mark left by the lid.

Place the biscuit over the chicken mixture.

Bake at 450°F uncovered for 20 minutes, or until the biscuit topping is golden brown.

Put on your best apron and deliver to pastor.