- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (2 sticks’ unsalted butter), chopped into 1-inch cubes, cold
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, chopped into 1/2- inch cubes
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup quartered mushrooms
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 1 carrot, diced
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 cup peas
- Freshly ground pepper
- 4 eggs
- Sift the flour into the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and salt, and pulse until crumbly. Add the water, a tablespoon at a time, pulsing to combine until the dough comes together in a ball. (Or make the dough by hand, cutting in the butter with two forks or your fingers.) Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- In a heavy medium pot, heat the oil over medium- high heat. Add the chicken, working in batches to keep from overcrowding the pan, and sear on all sides until golden, about 3 minutes total. Add the onions, mushrooms, celery, and carrot and cook for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the stock and scrape off any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining stock and parsley, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and gently simmer for 15 minutes, until the carrots have softened. Mix the cornstarch with 1/4 cup water, and stir it into the pot. Continue to cook until the mixture thickens. Add the peas, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Divide the crust into 8 pieces, and form each into a ball. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the balls into 6-inch rounds. Place 1 round in the bottom of a 2-inch pie tin so the pastry edges overhang the sides. Repeat with 3 more of the rounds. Cut a 1-inch-diameter hole from the middle of the remaining 4 rounds.
- Spoon about 1 cup of the cooled filling into each pie tin. Cover each with 1 of the cut-out rounds, centering the hole. Pinch the edges of the top and bottom crusts together so they stand about 1/2 of an inch above the top of the pastry, forming a little wall.
- Bake the potpies until the crusts are golden and the filling bubbly, about 25 minutes. Using a small spoon, carefully reach in through the hole in the crust and push the filling aside a little to create a small well. Pour an egg into each hole; the yolk should sit in the hole, but the white will run over the top of the crust. Bake the potpies for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the eggs set. Cool for about 5 minutes before serving.