Torta de Pollo Colombiana (Colombian Chicken Pan Pie)

About This Recipe

Torta de pollo is a genuine Colombian home-cooking dish — a savory chicken and vegetable filling baked under a simple dough or biscuit-style topping, closer to a casserole-pie hybrid than a classic pastry-crusted pie. It's the kind of dish Colombian mothers and grandmothers make for a Sunday family lunch or when feeding a crowd, built from shredded cooked chicken, potato, carrot and peas in a lightly thickened sauce, with toasted cumin adding warmth to both the filling and the crust. The filling comes together from poached, shredded chicken (using the poaching liquid as the base for the sauce so nothing goes to waste) simmered with vegetables until just tender — overcooking them at this stage means mush once the pie bakes further in the oven. The crust here is a simple, quick biscuit-style dough rather than a laminated pastry, rolled or patted out and laid over the filling, which is far more true to how this dish is actually made in Colombian kitchens than a French-style pie crust would be. Baked until the top is golden and the filling bubbles at the edges, this is hearty, unfussy family food, best served warm with a simple green salad on the side.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 500 gboneless chicken thighs
• 3 cupschicken stock
• 1 tspground cumin(toasted, divided)
• 1.5 tspfine sea salt(divided)
• 2 tbspolive oil
• 1onion(diced)
• 2carrots(diced)
• 2potatoes(peeled and diced)
• 0.75 cupfrozen peas
• 2 tbspflour
• 2 cupsall-purpose flour(for the crust)
• 1 tbspbaking powder(for the crust)
• 0.5 cupcold butter(cubed, for the crust)
• 0.75 cupmilk(for the crust)
• 1egg(beaten, for egg wash)

Instructions

1. 1

   Toast the cumin

   Toast cumin in a dry skillet over medium heat for 30 seconds until fragrant. Set aside.

2. 2

   Poach the chicken

   Simmer chicken thighs in chicken stock with half the toasted cumin and 1/2 teaspoon salt for 18-20 minutes until cooked through. Remove chicken, reserving the stock, and shred once cool enough to handle.

3. 3

   Cook the vegetables

   Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook onion, carrot and potato until just starting to soften, about 8 minutes.

4. 4

   Thicken the filling

   Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and stir to coat. Gradually add 2 cups of the reserved poaching stock, stirring constantly, and simmer 5-6 minutes until thickened.

5. 5

   Combine the filling

   Stir in shredded chicken, peas, remaining cumin and remaining salt. Pour into a buttered 9x13-inch baking dish.

6. 6

   Make the crust

   Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F). Whisk flour and baking powder together, cut in cold butter until pea-sized crumbs form, then stir in milk just until a soft dough comes together.

7. 7

   Top and bake

   Pat or roll the dough to fit the baking dish and lay it over the filling. Brush with beaten egg. Bake 25-30 minutes until the crust is golden and the filling bubbles at the edges.

   Don't overmix the biscuit dough — a slightly shaggy, just-combined dough bakes up far more tender than one that's been worked too much.

8. 8

   Rest and serve

   Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving so the filling sets slightly.

Variations

• •

  Use rotisserie chicken and store-bought stock to cut prep time significantly for a weeknight version.

• •

  Add corn kernels to the filling, a common addition in Colombian home versions of this dish.

• •

  Make individual pot pies in ramekins for portioned servings, reducing bake time to about 20 minutes.

Storage

Refrigerate covered up to 3 days. Reheat individual portions in a 175°C oven for 15-20 minutes to keep the crust from turning soggy; microwaving softens the topping.

Frequently Asked Questions