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Café Azul's Tinga Pie

A delicious savory chicken and chipotle pie, wrapped in a flaky and rich crust.
Author: Claire Archibald

Ingredients

For the crust

  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 teaspoons champagne or white wine vinegar
  • ice water

For the filling

  • 3 pounds cooked chicken meat see above, I prefer dark meat, shredded, skin and bones discarded
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 2 yellow onions julienned
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes drained, you want about 4 cups (I prefer Muir Glen fire roasted)
  • 1/2 cup currants
  • 3 tablespoons canned chipotle chilies minced
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 3 tablespoons milk

Instructions

  • First, make the pastry. Sift together the flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with your fingers or a pastry cutter. Combine the egg and vinegar in a glass measuring cup and beat lightly with a fork. Add enough ice water to equal 1/2 cup. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture all at once. With your hands, work the ingredients together into a ball. Flatten into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour before rolling, and up to six hours. (This dough can also be frozen).
  • Then make the filling. Heat a large saute pan over medium-low heat, then add 1/4 cup olive oil and warm. Saute the onions and the salt until the onions are translucent and fully cooked, but they have not begun to brown. Add the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes, until warmed through.
  • In a separate pan, add the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and the currants and fry over medium heat until the currants are puffy and brown. Add the minced chipotle chilis to this pan. Mix well and add to the onion and tomato mixture. Add the shredded chicken and combine well. Taste for salt. Let the whole mixture cool to room temperature. If you want to make this in advance you can cover and refrigerate the filling for a day or two.
  • To assemble: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lay a sheet of parchment paper on your work surface, cut about the size of your sheet pan. Unwrap the dough and place it on the parchment paper. If the dough is very wet, sprinkle it with some flour. Roll the dough out in a large (it's okay if it's imperfect!) circle, until it is about 1/4 inch thick, maybe a little less. Place the filling in the center of the circle, leaving about 2 to 3 inches of dough around the edge. Fold the edges of the dough up and over the filling forming an enclosure for the filling, but not covering it all the way. The center will be exposed.
  • Combine the egg and milk in a small bowl and whisk them together with a fork. Brush the mixture all over the exposed parts of the dough. This will give it a nice shine when it's finished. Using the parchment paper to lift the pie, transfer it onto your baking sheet.
  • Bake for 35 - 45 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the filling is a little bubbly.

Notes

The original recipe gives you instructions to poach the chicken, but to simplify I am just listing cooked chickenhere. You can use poached or roasted chicken. Or you can even use a store-bought rotisserie chicken which you've pulled off the bone. I prefer chicken thighs, as they are more flavorful than the breast. Remove the skin and bones before using.
This can also be made into individual pies, that you would serve one per person. This recipe would probably make 4 of those. That's nice for a dinner party, but it's a big serving. If you do make them smaller, adjust the cooking time down.
Tinga Pie is best served warm, but it's also pretty darn good at room temperature for lunch the next day.