the comfiest comfort food

This is what zillah actually wanted to eat the night she made the Asian noodle salad, she just doesn't know it yet. With a flaky, buttery crust (Deb from Smitten Kitchen certainly knows how to do pastry right), and a light, smooth gravy, it's pretty much the perfect meal on a dreary day. But since spring is coming, and we might be running out of days to eat this, I found it imperative to post this as soon as possible.

As I typed out this recipe, it suddenly looked long and complex. But it doesn't feel that way when you're making it, I promise. My only complaint is that the original recipe for the sauce doesn't have much flavor, in my opinion. Butter and garlic are great, but combined with flour and broth, they make for a very bland gravy.  It needed something more, so I added dried thyme and rosemary. I may have once put in some Herbes de Provence and maybe sage as well.

White bean and Swiss Chard Pot Pies
From The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook or online here with my slight alterations shown below

Biscuit Lid
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
13 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 tablespoons sour cream/greek yogurt
1 tabelspoons white vinegar
1/4 cup ice water
1 egg, beaten, + 1 tablespoon water (for egg wash)

Directions:
1. In a large, wide bowl, combine the fl our and salt. Add the butter and, using a pastry blender or your fingertips, cut them up and into the flour mixture until it resembles little pebbles. Keep breaking up the bits of butter until the texture is like uncooked couscous. 
2. In a small dish, whisk together the sour cream, vinegar, and water, and combine it with the butter-flour mixture. 
3. Using a flexible spatula, stir the wet and the dry together until a craggy dough forms. If needed, get your hands into the bowl to knead it a few times into one big ball. Pat it into a flattish ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and chill it in the fridge for 1 hour or up to 2 days.

Filling
2 tabelspoons olive oil
4 oz diced pancetta (optional)
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, sliced into 1/8 inch rounds
2 celery stalks, sliced
pinch red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced
about 4 cups thinly sliced Swiss chard leaves
3 1/2 tablespoons butter
3 1/2 tablespoons purpose flour
3 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups white beans, cooked and drained
1/2 teaspoon each dried thyme and rosemary leaves (or other combination of homey herbs)

Directions:

Make filling: 

1. (If including pancetta)  Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium- high heat in a large, wide saucepan, and then add the pancetta. Brown the pancetta, turning it frequently, so that it colors and crisps on all sides; this takes about 10 minutes. Remove it with a slotted spoon, and drain it on paper towels before transferring to a medium bowl. Leave the heat on and the renderings in the pan. 
2. Add an additional tablespoon of olive oil if needed and heat it until it is shimmering. Add onions, carrot, celery, red pepper flakes, and a few pinches of salt, and cook over medium heat until the vegetables are softened and begin to take on color, about 7 to 8 minutes. 
3. Add the garlic, and cook for 1 minute more. 
4. Add the greens and cook until wilted, about 2 to 3 minutes. 
5. Season with the additional salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Transfer all of the cooked vegetables to the bowl with the pancetta, and set aside.

Make sauce:
1. Melt the butter in the saucepan over medium- low heat. Add the flour, and stir with a whisk until combined. Continue cooking for 2 minutes, stirring the whole time, until it begins to take on a little color. 
2. Whisk in the broth, one ladleful at a time, mixing completely between additions. Once you've added one- third of the broth, you can begin to add the rest more quickly, two to three ladlefuls at a time.
3. Once all of the broth is added, stirring the whole time, bring the mixture to a boil and reduce it to a simmer. Cook the sauce until it is thickened and gravylike, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir the white beans and reserved vegetables into the sauce.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Assemble and cook pot pies: Smitten Kitchen says you should divide the filling in 4 ovenproof bowls, but as I don't have any of those, I used a 8 x 10 inch pan that I set on a baking sheet.

1. Roll out your dough into one large rectangle (or small circles, if you're lucky enough to have the requisite bowls) and cover your pan or bowls with an overhang, or about 1 inch wider in diameter than your receptacle. 
2. Whisk the egg wash and brush it lightly around the top rim of your pant (to keep the lid glued on) and drape the pastry over each, pressing gently to adhere it. Brush the lids with egg wash, then cut decorative vents in each to help steam escape. Bake until crust is lightly bronzed and filling is bubbling, about 30 to 35 minutes.