BBQ Chicken Pizza

I made this at home the other day from leftovers (roast chicken and bbq sauce), and my friend Mason requested for me to put it on the blog.

I made the pizza dough similarly to the one here, except that I did not use a machine to mix/knead it. This necessitated a stiffer (less wet) dough, in order for it to be easier to work with. So I started with 7.5 oz tepid (just warm) water and 0.1 oz instant yeast in a large bowl. Then I added 8.8 oz flour (I used bread flour, but you could use All-Purpose) and 0.2 oz salt, and mixed it with a large spoon. This resulted in a wet dough.

Next, I floured my counter and tipped the dough out onto it. I shook out more flour over the top of the dough, and started pushing it around, adding more flour when my hands stuck to it too much. Then I started kneading - using the heel of my hand to push the dough away from me, then pulling it back with my fingers. Keep adding flour if it is too sticky to handle. You can stop adding flour when it is just a little tacky. Continue to knead until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. At this point, you can put it back in your large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave it in a warm place for about 2 hours until tripled in size.

While the dough is rising, prepare your toppings. I used a leftover roast chicken breast (i.e already cooked through), which was cut into 1 inch chunks and then heated gently in my homemade bbq sauce (recipe here, or you can use store-bought). Save some sauce for the pizza base also. Thinly slice half of a small red onion, and a good amount of meltable cheese (mozzarella is traditional - you will need enough to cover the base of the pizza). If you wish to use herbs, chop or tear them and set aside. As you can see from the picture, I used cilantro (coriander leaf), but I didn't think it worked so well. Next time, I'll try basil.

Towards the end of the two hours, preheat your oven to 500 F, with a pizza stone or upturned baking sheet on a lower shelf. Take another upturned baking sheet (or pizza peel if you have one) and put a sheet of parchment paper on top.

Once tripled in size, dump your dough out onto a floured counter, and shape it into a rough round (or whatever shape you want your pizza to be). Transfer it to your sheet/peel, and then slide it off onto the preheated stone/sheet in the oven.

Bake the base for about 8 minutes, until 'set' enough to top, but not too brown. Remove it from the oven (leave the stone/sheet in there) and top with your chicken, sauce, red onion and cheese. Return to the stone/sheet and continue to bake until everything is hot and the cheese is bubbling. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with herbs. Allow to cool a little. Enjoy!

Note 1 - Metric Info: 7.5 oz = 210g (7.5 oz water = 220ml); 0.1 oz = 3g; 8.8 oz = 250g; 0.2 oz = 6g; 500 F = 260 C.

Note 2 - Make sure you have plenty of flour to make the base. It will take much more than the initial 8.8 oz.

Chicken Pot Pie

Today's recipe is adapted from Jacques Pepin's 'Complete Techniques'. I had a lot of chicken meat left over from last night's roast chicken and needed to find a use for it.

How many potpies you can make obviously depends on how much leftover cooked chicken you have. I had enough to make 4 pies, each in a 4-inch oven-safe ramekin. Take 3/4 cup white wine, add 3/4 cup chicken stock (preferably homemade), a dash of dried thyme and 1/2 small onion, sliced, and combine them in a pan, bring them to a simmer for 20 minutes, then strain the liquid through a fine sieve. Reduce the liquid to a volume of 3/4 cup (this took me 8 minutes of boiling), then add 2 tsp beurre manie (rub 1 tsp softened butter into 1 tsp flour) and whisk until smooth. Boil 5 minutes, then add 3/4 cup heavy cream and return to a boil. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, boil some salted water. Add 2 small carrots, peeled and diced, and boil for 2 minutes. Add 1 rib celery, diced, and boil another 30 seconds. Add 1/2 cup frozen peas and boil a further 30 seconds. Strain and reserve.

Distribute cooked chicken (cut into small chunks), vegetables and sauce between ramekins, being careful not to fill all the way to the top. Take a sheet of puff pastry (you could make your own, but I bought a package of frozen dough - I used half of a 1 lb package). If frozen, allow it to thaw first, then roll it out to a thickness of 1/8 inch (my pastry was already this thick), and cut 4 rounds (each a little larger than the top of the ramekin). Beat 2 egg yolks, and brush each round with egg on 1 side. Place each on a ramekin, eggy side downwards. Press gently around sides of ramekin. Try to keep the pastry taut. Brush the tops with egg and refrigerate the pies for 1 hour.

Preheat your oven to 375 F. Bake pies on a sheet tray for 30 minutes. Serve straight away. Enjoy!

Note 1 - If you do not have leftover chicken, you could poach some raw chicken pieces in the wine and stock (keep simmering until cooked through) - you decide how much meat to use based on how many people you have to feed.

Note 2 - Metric Info: 4 in = 10cm; 3/4 cup = 180ml; 1/2 cup = 120ml; 1 lb = 450g; 1/8 in = 3mm; 375 F = 190 C.