Empadão - Brasilian Chicken Pot Pie

Once a week growing up in Brasil, Rosa would cook us this delicious chicken pie. She would have it ready so quick , i still wonder how she did it. Buttery crust is what i look for in a chicken pie, and hearts of palm and olives , and peas and corn,...the list just goes on... you can add anything you like to the pie!

Ingredients:

For the filling:
1 large yellow onion chopped
5 cloves od garlic chopped
2 lb. of boneless chicken breast , sliced into thin fillets
2 carrots
1 rib of celery
handfull of olives( black or green)
can of corn or the kernels from 2 fresh corn ears
handfull of frozen baby peas
1 cup of sliced hearts of palm
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
A touch of cream or 1/4 cup of milk
2 tablespoons of butter at room temperature
2 tablespoons of flour
1 small can of whole peeled tomatoes
1 teaspoon of tomato paste
Chopped fresh parsley

For the dough:
1 cup (2 sticks) of  cold butter
3 egg yolks
2 tablespoons of ice water
1 1/2 cup of flour
1 teaspoon of salt

1 egg for a egg wash

Start with the dough. Put all ingredients in a food processor and pulse a few times till the mixture looks like crumbs. Remove from processor and form a ball , wrap it in a piece of plastic film and refrigerate until you are ready to use.

For the filling:

Sprinkle salt and pepper all over chicken fillets.

Heat a large pan over moderate heat with olive oil. Pan fry chicken for about 4 minutes a side , remove chicken and set aside to rest and cool down.

Place onions in same grease as you fried the chicken and if needed add some more olive oil. When onions are translucent , about 5 minutes, add the garlic and cook it for 1 minute. Add carrots and celery and let it cook for about 10 minutes,add the whole tomatoes and tomato paste. Meanwhile using a fork and a knife shred the chicken and when vegetables are ready add the chicken to them.

Add corn, peas, hearts of palms and olives( the more the better but if you only wanna do 1 or 2 it's fine) and let it simmer for about 25 minutes . add cream and make a roux with softened butter and flour and add to the filling, cook on moderate heat until the filing has thickened. Add fresh parsley and remove from heat.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

On a lightly floured surface roll out 1/3 of the dough and place on the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish , roll out the 4 sides and using your fingers attach the dough to the sides of the dish.

Pour the warm feeling inside the dish. Roll out the last 1/3 piece of dough to fit the top of the baking dish , using your fingers to attach the sides to the top. Beat 1 egg and brush it on top of the dough.

Place pie dish on top of a cookie sheet, just so if the butter leaks it won't smoke your oven. Bake it for 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown . Serve it hot by itself or with rice, which is my favorite.