The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook (46 page)

A variant of the Warm Chicken Pot Pie (see recipe in this chapter), this dish is one of the most popular types of savory pie served in Britain. Mr. Bates’s pub would definitely offer this warm, creamy pie to its patrons.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 boneless chicken breasts, skinned and chopped

1
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cups button mushrooms, quartered

1 medium onion, chopped

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cup frozen green peas

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

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cup heavy cream

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cup whole milk

1 cup low-sodium chicken stock

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon kosher salt

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teaspoon white pepper

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teaspoon dried thyme

1 (11-ounce) frozen puff pastry

1 large egg, beaten

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
   
2. In a medium frying pan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chopped chicken and fry until it just barely begins to color.
   
3. Add mushrooms and continue to fry until chicken turns golden brown. Remove chicken and mushrooms from pan. Add onion, peas, and garlic to same pan and fry for an additional 5–7 minutes until soft. Remove from heat and set aside in the same bowl as chicken and mushrooms.
   
4. In a medium-sized saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and cook for an additional 3 minutes or until roux is formed. Keep stirring.
   
5. In a small bowl, mix together cream, milk, and chicken stock. Then stir in nutmeg, salt, white pepper, and thyme. Pour liquid slowly into roux, whisking constantly until smooth. Simmer over low heat, still stirring constantly, until sauce has thickened.
   
6. Pour sauce over chicken and mushroom mixture. Mix well, then spoon into a pie dish and leave until completely cooled.
   
7. Roll out pastry onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Brush edges of pie dish with beaten egg, then lay pastry on top. Brush top of pie with beaten egg, then make three to four slits in the top of pie to allow steam to escape. Bake in preheated oven for 20–25 minutes or until golden brown on top and bubbly inside.
   

While this pie is a meal unto itself, many a heartier staff member might request a vegetable such as Baked and Buttery Balsamic Asparagus with Sea Salt (see
Chapter 6
) or even Downstairs Mashed Potatoes (see
Chapter 11
) as a side accompaniment.

There’s something about Warm Chicken Pot Pie that heals the soul and, since this dish is an excellent type of comfort food, it’s likely Mrs. Patmore would have offered it not just to her fellow employees but even to the Countess of Grantham after her unfortunate miscarriage.

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, shredded

2 cups carrots, sliced

1 cup celery, sliced

1 cup frozen green peas

3
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cups low-sodium chicken broth

¹
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cup unsalted butter

1 cup large onion, chopped

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cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

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teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

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teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1
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cups whole milk

2 (9-inch) unbaked pie crusts

1 large egg white

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large saucepan, mix together chicken, carrots, celery, and green peas. Add 1 cup of the chicken broth and then enough water to cover and boil for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
   
2. In a separate saucepan, heat butter and onion over medium heat, cooking until chopped onion is translucent. Slowly stir in flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and poultry seasoning. Add in the remaining 2
   ¹
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   cups chicken broth and the milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside.
   
3. Place 1 pie crust in a deep-dish pie dish, then brush with egg white. Cover with pastry weights and bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven, then remove pastry weights from pie.
   
4. Evenly pour chicken mixture into baked pie crust, then pour hot butter-onion mixture over chicken mixture. Cover with unbaked pie crust, then seal edges and cut away excess dough. Be sure to make several small cuts on pie top to allow steam to escape.
   
5. Bake pie in oven for 45 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.
   

British pot pies differ from American pot pies, which often lack a bottom crust and are more of a casserole than a pie. Also, British pot pies tend to have a thicker, heavier crust — some are even made with shortcrust!

Although it wasn’t incredibly common for the chef to cook up a special dessert for her fellow staff, it wasn’t unheard of. After all, after a long work day, the maids and footmen would all deserve a treat — but whether they would be allowed one is another question entirely. In this chapter you’ll learn how to whip up desserts that every member of the Downton Abbey staff would be well acquainted with, from Tweeny’s Tipsy Cake to Treacle Tart to Classic Vanilla Rice Pudding. These desserts might be served after supper (see
Chapter 11
) or with dinner/lunch (see
Chapter 10
).

In a pinch, Mrs. Patmore could quickly and easily make this bread for teas or lunches. It requires less preparation than most breads, but is nonetheless warm, slightly sweet, and delicious — especially with the addition of the warm honey butter! This would be a hit not just with the aristocrats of Downton Abbey but the busy staff as well (if they were lucky enough to get a piece).

1 package (
¹
⁄
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-ounce) active dry yeast

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cup warm water (110°–115°F)

1 cup warm whole milk (110°–115°F)

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cup unsalted butter, softened

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cup sugar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

3 eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon lemon juice

5
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cups all-purpose flour

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cup unsalted butter, softened yet still warm

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cup honey, slightly warmed

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teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon sea salt

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Mix in the milk,
   ³
   ⁄
   ₄
   cup butter, sugar, salt, and eggs. It does not matter if the butter is not completely melted. Whisk in lemon juice, then slowly pour in flour and beat until smooth. If mixture is not a soft dough, add up to an extra
   ¹
   ⁄
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   cup flour.
   
2. Place dough in a thoroughly greased bowl. Do not knead dough. Turn dough once so it becomes thoroughly greased. Cover bowl with a moist towel and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1–1
   ¹
   ⁄
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   hours.
   
3. Punch dough down, then spoon into a greased and lightly floured 10-inch bread pan. Cover and let rise until once again doubled, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375°F.
   
4. Place bread in middle rack of oven and bake for 30–35 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove bread from pan to a wire rack and let cool.
   
5. In a small bowl, mix together softened
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   cup butter, honey, sugar, and sea salt. Chill butter in refrigerator until butter reaches a spreadable consistency or until needed. Spread over sliced bread.
   

There’s a great deal of debate on the origins of this bread. Some say the recipe was brought to Bath, England, by a French immigrant in the seventeenth century, and that a Mrs. Sally Lunn sold her “Sally Lunn Buns” as a means of making money. Others claim that the name is derived from the French phrase
Soleil et Lune
, “sun and moon,” due to the color and shape of the traditional buns: the “sun” referring to the golden top and the “moon” referring to the white, spongy interior. At any rate, any Edwardian visiting Bath on holiday would know this bread well.