Chicken Pot Pie Soup

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• Level: Easy

• Total: 1 hr 35 min

• Active: 1 hr

• Yield: 6 servings of soup and 12 puff pastry croutons

One of my ultimate comfort foods is chicken pot pie. I love it because it’s warm and comforting but also because it’s an entire meal in a pie crust. How bad could that be? I was walking through an airport one day and spotted chicken pot pie soup on a menu at the food court and thought it sounded like a great idea. Curiously, it was harder to make than I thought; my first attempts just tasted like chicken pot pie, not soup. But I played around with the recipe and ultimately made a delicious, hearty chicken soup with homemade chicken stock (find my recipe at foodnetwork.com/inastock), roasted chicken, lots of vegetables and — in place of the crust — puff pastry croutons. The secret to this recipe is frozen peas and frozen pearl onions, which makes the prep really easy!

• Level: Easy

• Total: 1 hr 35 min

• Active: 1 hr

• Yield: 6 servings of soup and 12 puff pastry croutons

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3 chicken breasts, skin-on, bone-in (2 1/2 to 3 pounds total)

Good olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter

5 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (3 leeks) (see Cook’s Note)

4 cups chopped fennel, tops and cores removed (2 bulbs)

3 cups (1/2-inch) diced scrubbed carrots (5 medium)

1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon leaves

1/4 cup Wondra flour

3/4 cup cream sherry, divided

7 cups good chicken stock, preferably homemade

1 (2-by-3-inch) piece of Italian Parmesan cheese rind

1 (10-ounce) box frozen peas

1 cup frozen whole pearl onions

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

Puff Pastry Croutons (recipe follows)

Puff Pastry Croutons:

1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, such as Pepperidge Farm, defrosted

1 extra-large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon heavy cream, for egg wash

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.
2. Place the chicken on a sheet pan skin-side up, rub the skin with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 minutes, until a thermometer registers 130˚ F to 140˚ F. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove and discard the skin and bones and cut the chicken in 1-inch dice. Set aside.
3. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium (10- to 11-inch) heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, such as Le Creuset, over medium heat. Add the leeks, fennel and carrots and sauté over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are tender but not browned. Stir in the garlic and tarragon and cook for one minute. Sprinkle on the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the sherry, the chicken stock, 4 teaspoons salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper and the Parmesan rind. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 20 minutes.
4. Add the chicken, peas and onions and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Off the heat, remove the Parmesan rind and add the remaining 1/4 cup of sherry and the parsley. Serve hot in large shallow bowls with two Puff Pastry Croutons on top.

Puff Pastry Croutons:

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚ F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. Lightly dust a board and rolling pin with flour. Unfold the sheet of puff pastry on the board, dust it lightly with flour and lightly roll the pastry just to smooth out the folds.
3. With star-shaped or fluted round cookie cutters, cut 12 stars or rounds of pastry and place them on the prepared sheet pan. Brush the tops with the egg wash, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until puffed and golden brown.

To prep the leeks, cut off the dark green leaves at a 45-degree angle and discard. Chop the white and light green parts, wash well in a bowl of water and spin dry in a salad spinner. Wet leeks will steam rather than sauté. For the puff pastry croutons, defrost puff pastry overnight in the refrigerator. You want the pastry to be very cold when you bake it.

Photograph by Mike Garten

Reprinted from Modern Comfort Food, Copyright 2020 by Ina Garten, Clarkson Potter/Publisher. All rights reserved.