Chicken pot pie with homemade puff pastry

Bring the bone broth up over high heat in the skillet, then lower to a very gentle simmer and poach the unseasoned chicken thighs, submerged, until cooked through.

Work the room temperature butter into the flour and salt by hand until it disappears into the flour; the dough is intentionally underdeveloped.

Add the water and bring the dough together by hand into a shaggy mass, then turn out and work it until the loose flour is incorporated, leaning soft rather than sticky.

Form into a ball, cover, and rest about 20 minutes so the gluten relaxes.

For the butter block, lay the two sticks side by side in parchment and beat them with a rolling pin to soften without warming.

Work the butter into a square between a quarter and a half inch thick, fold the parchment into a precise square packet and roll it so the butter fills the corners; chill.

Cut a large X through the rested dough and push the points out into a square, then roll it into a diamond large enough for the butter block to reach the edges.

Place the butter block in the centre of the dough at 45 degrees, bring the four points to the centre and pinch the seams really well so no butter is showing.

First turn: roll into a long somewhat narrow rectangle, pushing away rather than pressing down and squaring the corners; trim the bottom a little.

Book fold: fold the top down to the midline, the bottom up to the midline leaving a gap, then fold in half, giving four layers. Chill.

Second turn: rotate 90 degrees so the book opens to the left, roll out and do a letter fold in thirds.

Third turn: rotate again, roll out and letter fold. Wrap and rest 20 minutes in the fridge.

Fourth turn: rotate, roll out and letter fold. The pastry is complete; keep it in the fridge a day or two, or freeze and thaw overnight in the fridge.

If using it right away, give it at least an hour in the fridge, or 30 minutes at a push.

Peel and dice the carrots, chop the onion and the celery to a similar size.

Melt the butter in the hot Dutch oven over medium heat and add the aromatics; soften without browning, eight to ten minutes.

Throw in the thyme sprigs whole and the bay leaf.

Pull the cooked chicken out of the broth onto a plate and keep the broth hot; shred it with a fork or your fingers and run the knife through the longer pieces.

Add the white wine and let it cook down almost entirely, deglazing any brown bits.

Sprinkle the flour evenly over the vegetables, stir so it adheres, and cook it out until it starts to stick to the bottom of the pot.

Ladle the hot broth in one ladle at a time at first, stirring, to prevent lumps; once more than half is in and there are no lumps, add the rest.

Bring to a boil so the flour fully thickens, then hold at a simmer over medium low; aim between brothy and pasty.

Add the shredded chicken and the heavy cream.

Season with a lot of black pepper and salt to taste.

Off the heat add the frozen peas and the Tabasco, taste again, and pick out the thyme and bay leaf.

Stir in the chopped parsley.

Cool and refrigerate the filling; it must be cold when you assemble, and it tastes better after sitting. It will set quite solid.

Heat the oven to 425 with a foil-covered baking sheet inside for drips, and beat the egg for the egg wash.

Roll the cold pastry out to a generous eighth of an inch, working quickly, and cut a circle to fit the skillet with about an inch and a half of overhang.

Fill the skillet with the cold filling.

Egg wash the rim of the skillet, drape the pastry over, and crimp so it stays adhered to the lip.

Egg wash the surface, add cracked black pepper and flaky salt if you have it, and cut slits in a radiating pattern to let steam escape.

Bake at 425, checking at about 20 minutes; once the surface starts to brown, at about 25 to 30 minutes, drop to 375 and bake the rest of the way.

Bake to the indicator rather than the time: until the centre is puffed and browned and the filling is bubbling in the centre. Hers took an hour and ten minutes total.

Let it cool at least 15 minutes, longer than she waited, so the filling sets up.

To serve, remove the pastry and set it aside, spoon out the filling and set the pastry back on top.