Mexican Chicken Pie

This Mexican Chicken Pie, filled with chicken, potatoes, carrots, peas, and corn and topped with a cornmeal and cheese crust is spicy and delicious. 

The cornmeal crust that tops this Mexican chicken pie is super easy to make, plus you can make the dough for the crust in advance and refrigerate it until you are ready to make the pie.

I added some grated cheddar cheese to the dough for the crust, along with some chopped cilantro, but you can leave them out if you'd prefer.

Chicken pie is one of my all time favorite comfort foods. One of my first posts on this blog was my favorite chicken pot pie. It's beyond good (I need to make it again!).

This Mexican Chicken Pot Pie takes the ingredients of chicken pie and tosses them in a delicious sauce (called chiltomate sauce) of roasted tomatoes and chiles, along with garlic and onions.

What is Chiltomate Sauce? 

Chiltomate sauce, originating from Yucatan, is a mixture of roasted tomatoes and habanero chiles, garlic, and onions. It's very spicy! You could substitute serranos or jalapeños if you'd like a milder sauce.

While traditional chiltomate sauce calls for fresh tomatoes, because it's not tomato season right now, I decided to try whole canned tomatoes to see how they would work. I drained them and roasted them in the oven, along with the habanero, for a delicious char. It worked beautifully. If you decide to use fresh tomatoes, use about 2 pounds.

Once you've roasted the chiles and tomatoes, you'll need to blend them in batches in your blender, or you can use an immersion blender to create the sauce. I'm totally into this immersion blender when making cocktails or blending hot ingredients. It's so convenient!

Today is Pi(e) Day! It's the day we celebrate the mathematical constant, π (pi). What is pi? It's the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. The circumference of a circle will be slightly larger than 3 time the diameter. Just measure your pizza or apple pie. No matter the circumference, the ratio will be constant.

This is my second year celebrating with Colleen of The Redhead Baker. Last year, I made this delicious Grasshopper Pie for the occasion.

This year, we have a wonderful selection of Pi(e)s to celebrate, including lots of savory ones.

Yes, I know my pie is square, but it's still delicious! Here are everyone's pies: 

• 4 ingredient Lemon Ice Box Pie by Creative Southern Home
• Brownie Pie by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Carrot Pie by Savory Moments
• Grapefruit Pie by Kate’s Recipe Box
• Kentucky Pie by For the Love of Food
• Key Lime Pie by Simply Inspired Meals
• Lucky Lemon Pie by The Spiffy Cookie
• Mexican Chicken Pie by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Mini Sheperd’s Pies by Cheese Curd In Paradise
• Mushroom Galette by Caroline’s Cooking
• Rhubarb Berry Pie by The Redhead Baker
• Sky High S’mores Pie by Food Above Gold
• Spaghetti Pie by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Tourtière Landaise (Apple and Armagnac Phyllo Pie) by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Virginia Pecan Pie by My Catholic Kitchen
• Zesty Tomato Pie by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings

pie, chicken, dinner

Dinner, main dish

Mexican

Yield: 6 to 8 servingsAuthor: Karen Kerr

Mexican Chicken Pie

ingredients

For the Cornmeal Crust

• 2/3 cup (90 grams) unbleached all purpose flour
• 2/3 cup (112 grams) yellow cornmeal, preferably coarsely ground
• 1/2 cup coarsely grated cheddar cheese 
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 8 tablespoons (112 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into 12 pieces
• 1 large (50 grams) egg

For the Chiltomate

• 1 habanero chile
• 2 - 28 ounce cans whole tomatoes, drained
• 4 to 6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped white onion
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

For the Pie

• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces. 
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 ounces Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 medium carrots, peeled, and cut into 1/4 inch rounds
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar

instructions

To Make the Crust

1. Combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times. 
2. Add the butter, cheese, and cilantro, and pulse several times until finely mixed. 
3. Add the egg and pulse until the dough just begins to come together and form a ball. 
4. Quickly press the dough together on your work surface and form it into a disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to use the dough. 

To Make the Chiltomate

1. Heat your broiler and line a baking sheet with foil. 
2. Cut the habaneros in half, remove the seeds, and place them skin side up on the baking sheet. 
3. Place the tomatoes on the baking sheet. 
4. Place the pan about 10 inches below the broiler and broil, turning the tomatoes several times, until the chiles are blistered and the tomatoes are slightly charred, about 10 minutes. 
5. Blend the chiles, tomatoes, garlic, onions, and salt in a blender or with an immersion blender until pureed. 

To Make the Pie

1. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and cook it in the olive oil in a Dutch oven until all of the chicken has been seared. 
2. Remove the chicken from the pan to a plate and set aside. Add the chiltomate to the Dutch oven. Bring it to a boil. Add the chicken, potatoes, and carrots and bring back to a boil. Lower the mixture to a simmer and cook, covered (but with the lid ajar), for about 30 minutes, until the potatoes and carrots are tender. 
3. With a rack in the middle, heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Oil a 2 to 3 quart baking dish. 
4. Add the peas, corn, cilantro, sugar, and vinegar to the chicken mixture and salt to taste. 
5. Pour the mixture into the baking dish. 
6. Roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thick, and cut it into 2 to 3 inch circles. Gather up any scraps, re-roll, and cut into more circles. 
7. Top the baking dish with the circles of dough to cover. 
8. Bake the pie for 25 to 30 minutes, until bubbly and the crust is golden. 
9. Cool the pie for about 5 to 10 minutes before serving. 

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2019/03/mexican-chicken-pie.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

Created using The Recipes Generator

This recipe was adapted from Nick Malgieri's Pastry: Foolproof Recipes for the Home Cook.