Chicken pot pie pasta

Pull the easy meat off a roasted chicken -- the big breast chunks and whatever comes away around the thighs and leg -- and refrigerate it.

Break the carcass apart, put the bones and remaining scraps in cold fresh water with a bay leaf and nothing else, and bring to a simmer on high.

Reduce to low and simmer gently a couple of hours, then turn off, cool and strain.

Melt an entire stick of butter over medium high heat in a pot and add the diced onion, cut carrot and celery with salt, cooking about five minutes until the onions soften and turn translucent.

Season with black pepper, dry thyme, garlic powder and a few shakes of cayenne and cook another minute.

Stir in the all-purpose flour and cook the roux three or four minutes until it sticks and toasts lightly on the bottom, without letting it go too dark.

Add six cups of the reserved broth, scraping the bottom, raise to high, and stir in a heaping spoon of chicken bouillon paste.

Once it simmers and thickens, lower to medium, add the peas and a small splash of cream and cook about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Chop the reserved chicken into half inch to one inch pieces, stir it in and cook another five minutes.

Boil a pound of shell shaped pasta in well salted water for one minute less than the package directions and drain very well.

Mix the panko breadcrumbs with a little salt and lots of melted butter until every crumb is coated.

Stir the drained pasta into the chicken pot pie mixture until evenly combined; it will look very soupy, which is correct, since the pasta absorbs it in the oven.

Ladle into a four and a half quart casserole dish, distribute evenly and top with the buttered breadcrumbs, dimpling the surface with the tip of a spoon.

Bake in the centre of a 375F oven 45 to 60 minutes until bubbling at the edge and the crumb topping is golden brown.