Chicken Pot Pie Crêpes

This dish comes out of the oven all baked and bubbly, and delivers the same comfort-food pleasure as a traditional pot pie but with a lighter feel. Here, I use spring vegetables—carrots, asparagus, peas, and leeks—but have fun and substitute whatever looks good at the market. I suggest using rotisserie chicken because that makes things easy, but if you want to roast or poach your own chicken, you’ll get even richer flavor.

The recipe serves 8; if that’s too much for a family dinner, divide the filling between two baking dishes and freeze one of them unbaked. That way you’ll have dinner in the freezer, ready for a night when you want the comfort without the cooking (see the Note on baking frozen crêpes).

Makes 16 filled crêpes; serves 8 as a main course

4 to 5 cups/960 ml to 1.2 L lower-sodium canned or homemade chicken broth

3 medium carrots (about 7 oz/200 g total), peeled and cut into ½-in/12-mm dice

1 lb/455 g medium asparagus (about 18 spears), woody ends trimmed and discarded, cut into 1-in/2.5-cm pieces

4 tbsp unsalted butter, plus more for the pan

1 large or 2 medium leeks (white and light green parts only), washed well and diced

Kosher salt

1 cup/170 g fresh or frozen peas (no need to thaw)

¼ cup/30 g all-purpose flour

cup/75 ml dry sherry or white wine

5 cups/570 g shredded cooked chicken (rotisserie chicken works great here)

3 tbsp chopped mixed fresh herbs (I like to use parsley, dill, and chives)

½ tsp lightly packed finely grated lemon zest

2 tsp fresh lemon juice, plus more as needed

Freshly ground black pepper

16 Versatile or Whole-Wheat Crêpes or your choice

½ cup/30 g finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Pour 4 cups/960 ml of the broth into a medium saucepan over high heat and bring it to a boil. Add the carrots, reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are tender but not mushy, 3 to 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the carrots to a bowl.

Add the asparagus to the simmering broth and cook, stirring occasionally, until just cooked through and no longer grassy in flavor, 4 to 6 minutes; transfer to the bowl with the carrots. Remove the pan of broth from the heat and set it aside.

Melt 2 tbsp of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the leek, season with salt, and cook, stirring often, until golden brown and very soft, about 15 minutes (you may need to lower the heat as the leek softens). Stir in the peas and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Add the leek and peas to the bowl with the other vegetables; it’s okay if a few pieces of leek remain in the pan.

Melt the remaining 2 tbsp butter in the skillet. Add the flour and whisk to make a smooth paste, called a roux. Cook the roux, whisking constantly, until pale blond in color, about 1 minute. Whisk in the sherry, creating a stiff paste. Adding about ¼ cup/60 ml at a time, gradually whisk in enough of the remaining 1 cup/240 ml broth to make a thick gravy. Pour this gravy into the saucepan with the broth and whisk to combine. Cook the sauce, whisking frequently, until smooth and thick, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and measure the sauce. If you don’t have 3 cups, add enough of the remaining chicken broth to make 3 cups of sauce total. Taste and season with salt. (You can prepare everything to this point and refrigerate in airtight containers, keeping the sauce separate from the vegetables, for up to 24 hours.)

Add the chicken to the vegetables in the bowl and pour half of the sauce over. Stir in half of the herbs, all the lemon zest and lemon juice, and a generous grinding of pepper. The mixture will probably be plenty salty, but if not, add more salt.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 450°F/230°C/gas 8. Butter the bottom of a 9-x-13-in/23-x-33-cm baking dish.

If your crêpes are cold or stiff, warm them for about 30 seconds in the microwave at 50 percent power so they are pliable. Lay the crêpes presentation-side down on a clean work surface. Spoon ½ cup/120 ml of the chicken filling in a thick horizontal line across the center of each crêpe. Roll the crêpes into fat cylinders and arrange them seam-side down in a single layer in the prepared baking dish. They should be snugged in tightly together. Pour the remaining sauce over the crêpes and sprinkle with the Parmesan. Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is golden brown, about 10 minutes. Garnish with the remaining herbs and transfer two crêpes to each of eight dinner plates. Serve right away.

Note: To bake frozen filled crêpes, cook them in their baking pan, covered in foil, at 375°F/190°C/gas 5 until heated through, 35 to 45 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the sauce is bubbly and browned, another 10 minutes or so.