Thoughtful Gourmet: Gluten-free, dairy-free chicken pot pie

In an effort to make a gluten-free chicken pot pie, I designed a 2-meal plan involving chicken and vegetables. On the first night, make roast chicken and vegetables with the mashed potatoes and parsnips. Then, a day or two later, make the chicken pot pie with the leftover chicken and vegetables, using the leftover mashed potato and parsnips as the ideal gluten-free topping for the pot pie. These menus serve a family of 4.

Dinner One: Roast Chicken & Vegetables with Mashed Potatoes

Mashed Potatoes and Parsnips with Crisp Root Vegetable Strips

Straight out of Sunset magazine, this recipe for mashed potatoes gets an update with parsnips and coconut oil. The peelings make this a dish virtually no-waste. Even better, my kids loved them.

1 1/2 pounds parsnips, rinsed, scrubbed, and patted dry

1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, rinsed, scrubbed, and patted dry

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

12 fresh sage leaves

1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

3/4 teaspoon pepper, divided

1 1/2 qts. vegetable broth

1/3 cup vegan coconut spread* or vegan margarine

1/4 cup nutritional yeast*

. 1. Preheat oven to 400°. Peel parsnips and potatoes, saving peels. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss peels with oil, sage, and 1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper, and spread out evenly. Bake for 10 minutes, stir, then cook until golden and crisp, stirring another time, 4 to 6 minutes. Keep warm.

. 2. Cut parsnips and potatoes into 2-in. chunks, put in a medium pot with broth, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until parsnips are very tender when pierced, 25 to 30 minutes. Drain, reserving liquid.

. 3. Return vegetables to pot with 1 cup broth (save remaining broth for other uses) and beat with a mixer or mash until as smooth as you like. Add coconut spread, yeast, and remaining 3/4 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper; stir well. Transfer to a warm bowl. Top with some of root vegetable strips and serve the rest on the side.

. *Find butter-like coconut spread, such as Earth Balance, as well as nutritional yeast at health-food stores or Whole Foods Market.

Adeena Sussman, Sunset  NOVEMBER 2011

This is my version of roast chicken, adjusted just a bit from the way my Mom makes it.

1 4 to 5 lb. chicken, giblets removed, rinsed and patted dry

1 tablespoon herbs de Provence

1 garlic clove, minced

1 yellow onion, cut into quarters

Maggi or Worcestershire sauce

4 slices thick-cut bacon

. 1. Preheat oven to 400°. Place chicken on a rack in a roasting pan.

. 2. In a small bowl, combine herbs de Provence, minced garlic and lemon juice.

. 3. Stuff chicken’s cavity with the onion and one teaspoon of herb mixture. Gently lift the skin on each breast and rub remaining herb mix evenly on both breasts. Sprinkle Maggi or Worcestershire onto the bird and rub into the skin so evenly coated and just damp.

. 4. Place bacon strips in a single layer over the breast, allowing any extra to hang over the cavity. Tie legs.

. 5. Roast about 15 minutes per pound or 1 hour, 15 minutes for a 5 lb. bird. When approximately 30 minutes of cooking time remain, remove pan from oven and remove the bacon strips. Return pan to oven until temperature at intersection of leg and breast is 160F and breast skin is nicely browned.

. 6. Remove bird from the pan, tent with foil and allow to rest 20 minutes before carving. Serve bird with bacon.

Roasted Vegetables

This recipe works wonderfully well for cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and carrots.

1 lb carrots, trimmed

1 lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half

1 lb cauliflower, cut into thick, ¾” slices

1 lb broccoli, cut into florets

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Line a half sheet pan with aluminum foil and spritz with olive or canola oil.

2. Place vegetables in a single layer on baking sheet. Spritz vegetables with oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast 20 minutes or until undersides begin to caramelize and turn brown.

3. Remove from oven, flip and roast 15 to 20 minutes more until undersides begin to caramelize and brown. Remove from oven. Serve immediately.

Dinner 2: Chicken Pot Pie

This riff on the all-time classic is gluten-free. Use whatever chicken you have left from the roast bird from Day 1, or 1 to 2 cups of left over chicken. Swap in vegan butter to make this dairy-free, too.

For the Creamed Chicken:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter or ghee

1/3 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour (corn starch will work too)

1 cup unsweetened rice or soy milk

1 to 2 cups leftover cooked chicken (from roast chicken, above)

2 tablespoons sherry

¼ teaspoon ground white pepper or more to taste

¼ teaspoon sea salt

For the Pot Pie:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter or ghee

1 medium onion, chopped

2 small celery stalks, chopped

3 leftover roasted carrots, chopped

2 slabs leftover roasted cauliflower, chopped

2 slabs leftover roasted broccoli chopped

½ cup frozen peas or pre-cut beans, thawed

3 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

2 to 3 cups leftover parsnip-potato mash

1. Remove leftover mashed potato and parsnip mixture, leftover chicken and leftover vegetables from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before proceeding.

2. Preheat oven to 400F. Spritz a deep-dish pie pan with oil, place pan on a rimmed baking sheet and set aside.

Make the creamed chicken:

1. In a wide, non-stick pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Slowly whisk the flour into the butter and cook 1-2 minutes more until evenly incorporated and beginning to turn golden.

2. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and steadily whisk until smooth. Whisking constantly, add the rice milk. Increase heat to medium-high and bring mixture just to a simmer, making sure that there are no lumps.

3. Stir in the leftover chicken then the sherry and cook just until heated through, about 1 minute more. Remove from heat and season with white pepper and salt. Set aside.

Make the Pot Pie:

1. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the butter. When foam subsides, add the onion and celery and cook until beginning to brown, about 7 minutes.

2. Add remaining vegetables (carrots through peas) and parsley. Stir just to combine, then remove from heat.

3. Stir the vegetables into the creamed chicken. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie pan.

4. Using a soup spoon or other medium-large spoon, “drop” mashed potato and parsnip mixture evenly over vegetables. It should look a bit “fluffed.”

5. Place in the oven and cook until chicken is bubbly and topping browns along the edges, about 30 minutes.