If you are looking for a Mexican dish that is rich, flavorful, and satisfying, you should try chicken tinga pie. This was a specialty of Café Azul, a former restaurant in Portland’s Pearl District that was known for its authentic Oaxacan cuisine. Chicken tinga pie is a hand pie made with flaky pastry and filled with shredded chicken in a spicy tomato and chipotle sauce. The pie is baked until golden and can be served with toppings such as lettuce, cheese, cilantro, avocado, and crema. The pie is similar to an empanada, but larger and more substantial.
Chicken tinga pie is based on chicken tinga, a traditional dish from the state of Puebla in central Mexico. Chicken tinga is made by simmering chicken in a sauce of tomatoes, onions, garlic, and chipotle peppers, which give it a smoky and spicy flavor. Chicken tinga is usually served as a filling for tacos, tostadas, or tortas. Café Azul’s version of chicken tinga pie was inspired by the owners’ experience in Oaxaca, a southern state in Mexico that is famous for its diverse and complex cuisine. Sisters Claire and Shawna Archibald opened Café Azul in McMinnville, Oregon, in 1994.
My wife, Leticia, and my sister-in-law, Yolanda, used to live in McMinnville. Yolanda introduced us to Chicken Tinga Pie. I try to make it as well as she does.
Chicken Tinga Pie
Ingredients
Pastry
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 1 tsp champagne vinegar
- ice water
Poached Chicken
- 1.36 kg chicken breast
- 8 cups water
- 1 carrot peeled and sliced
- 1 white onion peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- pinch thyme leaves
- Pinch of dried marjoram leaves
- 1 bay leaf
Pie Filling
- chicken from the Poached Chicken
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 white onions julienned
- pinch salt
- 4 cups roma tomatoes quartered
- ½ cup currants
- 3 Tbsp canned chipotle chiles pureed
- 1 egg yolk
- 3 Tbsp milk
Instructions
Pastry
- Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl.
- Cut in the butter.
- Combine the egg and vinegar in a glass measuring cup.
- Add enough icey water to equal ½ cup, includng the egg and vinegar mixture.
- Add the egg+water mixture to the flour mixture all at once.
- With your hands, work the ingredients together into a ball.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour before rolling.
Poached Chicken
- Add the water to a soup pot.
- Add the carrot, onion, salt, thyme, marjoram and bay leaf. Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Add the chicken. Bring the mixture back to a boil. Skim the foam that rises to the surface. Turn down the heat and let the chicken cool slightly. Remove and roughly shred the chicken.
Pie Filling
- Preheat your oven to 176 C / 350 F degrees.
- Place 1/4 cup of the olive oil in a large sauté pan. Over medium high heat, salute the onions and the salt until the onions are translucent and fully cooked but have not begun to brown.
- Add the tomatoes and fry until the tomatoes make a sauce but do not lose all their form.
- In a separate pan, add the remaining ¼ cup olive oil and currants and fry over medium heat until the currants are puffy and brown.
- Add the pureed chipotle chiles. Mix well and remove from heat.
- Add the currant mixture to the sautéed onions.
- Add the shredded chicken and adjust the salt.
- Cool the mixture in the refrigerator before filling the pie.
Assembly
- Divide the chilled pastry into quarters. Roll each quarter into a round.
- Place 2 cups of the filling mixture in the center of each round, leaving 2 inches of dough around the edge. Fold the four sides together to create a loose-form pie.
- Brush the egg yolk mixture over the pastry. Then, sprinkle kosher salt on the edge of the pastry.
- Transfer pies to a cookie sheet.
- Bake for 35 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
Updated on December 2nd, 2023