Chicken Delish

Chicken delish is one of those midcentury supper club casseroles that earned its name. Tender chicken and diced ham get combined with canned mushrooms and toasted almonds, tucked into a homemade biscuit pastry, then topped with a hand-cut lattice. The clever twist is what you do at the end: you pour a nutmeg-and-allspice-spiced cream broth right over the lattice before it goes into the oven.

That poured-over broth is the technique to focus on. It soaks down through the lattice, hydrates the filling beneath, and creates a creamy sauce inside the pie while the strips above brown into a golden, biscuit-like crust. The flour mixed into the filling is what thickens that liquid into gravy as the casserole bakes.

The biscuit dough is more forgiving than pie crust. Cut the cold butter into the flour until it looks like coarse meal, then bind with egg and milk. Don’t overwork it. A few visible butter flecks are good and make the top flakier.

The spice trio of nutmeg, allspice, and black pepper is what separates this from a generic chicken pot pie. Those warm baking spices were standard in 1960s cream-based casseroles and add the depth you remember from a Sunday dinner at grandma’s.

Pro Tips

• Toast the sliced almonds in a dry pan until pale gold before adding to the filling. It deepens their flavor.
• Use day-old roast chicken for the filling. The slightly dried meat soaks up the cream broth without going to mush.
• The lattice doesn’t need to be perfect. Crisscross strips loosely so the broth can soak through.
• Let the casserole rest 10 minutes before serving so the sauce can set.

Variations

• Swap canned mushrooms for fresh sauteed mushrooms for a meatier bite.
• Add a handful of frozen peas to the filling for color.
• Use pancetta instead of ham for a saltier, smokier note.