Carla Hall Just Told Us About the Protein-Packed Dinner She Loves When She "Doesn't Feel Like Cooking"

Plus the healthy snacks that keep her energized.

Reviewed by Dietitian Emily Lachtrupp, M.S., RD

Want to know how chicken potpie became what we know and love? Or how shrimp and grits developed into a Southern American staple? You can catch Carla Hall searching for these answers around the globe in her new series Chasing Flavor, now streaming on Max.

Hall talked with EatingWell to spill some behind-the-scenes tidbits about Chasing Flavor, including what she learned about the six comforting dishes highlighted on the show: ice cream, al pastor, chicken potpie, barbecue, hot chicken, and shrimp and grits. We deep dive into these classics, plus what Hall snacked on through her culinary journey in this exclusive interview.

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EatingWell: Was there something that surprised you the most while working on Chasing Flavor?

Hall: For me, it was just a dream to be able to do a travel blog show that was domestic and international. So my first surprise came when I said yes. In research, we took these quintessential beloved dishes that are American, and the idea was to trace them back so we could give credit to the cultures that had a hand in those dishes. I remember during the research, we were talking about barbecue and we were supposed to be going to Memphis to this restaurant that’s been around for a really long time. And as an African American, I'm like, “Wait, are you serious? Is that where we're going with this?” The surprise was generally that these were people who weren't African American, even though the African Americans were the ones who were cooking it. It was put on the map by somebody with the means to have a restaurant outside the culture, and as I dug, I saw why. A lot of times, even with shrimp and grits, there are things that were done outside of a restaurant that were known in the community, but you may not have seen them in a restaurant setting—that happened outside the culture. That story sort of played out a few times.

EatingWell: What’s a dish that you tried on Chasing Flavor that you have tried re-creating since filming?

Hall: I didn't really know the story of al pastor, so that whole journey was new to me. I walked away and said, “Oh my gosh, how could I make this at home? And how can I build a vertical spit and incorporate all of the things that I learned?” Because once you tell me something, then I want to try it myself. Like in the chicken potpie episode, I want to take some part of every piece of that journey. From the pot that's from Rome to the curry that's in the Jamaican meat patty and fold it all into my chicken potpie. I just made a chicken potpie, but I put curry in the crust, sort of thinking about that journey. And I put turnips in with the vegetables, which I wouldn't normally do.

EatingWell: Are there any snacks that you love having on set or for long travel days?

Hall: For snacks, I love nuts. Almonds or a nut mix, and I love munching on a good granola. Not one that's sticky and sweet, but one that's loose and crunchy. And I will always look at a Reese’s Cup at the grocery store. I really want to buy it—sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. But that would be my candy bar of choice if that's considered a candy bar.

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EatingWell: Favorite meals for busy workdays?

Hall: If I'm feeling homesick and I'm in New York, even when I was on The Chew, I would want a pot of beans, like a white bean stew. Greens, which would be mixed greens like collards and kale, maybe a little bit of mustard and then cornbread. Those are the foods for when I'm homesick. On the regular, all of my friends know I love eggs. I have to have eggs all the time. I always have eggs and I always have some kind of cherry tomato or grape tomato to have with them and salad. That's my go-to dinner that I love if I don't feel like cooking.

EatingWell: What’s the key to the best chicken potpie? Is there something that we should all consider the next time we whip one up?

Hall: I've done it a couple of different ways. I was recently thinking about this: the chicken potpie is at its best when all of the vegetables are not sautéed, but they are cooked with the chicken. They become soft, but not too soft. You have a stock, you throw the chicken in and preferably with bones. Then you have all your vegetables cut up and, halfway through the cooking process, just throw all your vegetables in with the chicken and then with your herbs and it makes it really easy. Now you have this flavorful stock, you have the vegetables that are cooked really well, but they're not sautéed. They are just sort of stewed, and then you take the chicken out. If you want mushrooms, you sauté them. If you want peas, you thaw those. And then you do your roux and you add the stock back in and you just throw everything back in there. I think that is the most flavorful way to make chicken potpie.

Those are a lot of steps, so what would you do as a shortcut? You can't really control your salt, but you can get a rotisserie chicken. You can get chicken stock and can still do exactly what I said: sauté your vegetables in the chicken stock. But I think adding fresh herbs makes a huge difference. Thyme, sage and rosemary just make a huge difference. If you are not eating chicken and you're vegetarian, my secret is to get the no-chicken veggie stock that is clear versus one that has a lot of carrots in it.

Related: Kardea Brown’s Chicken Pot Pies with Puff Pastry Are Equally Comforting and Stunning

EatingWell: Why focus on these specific dishes for the first six episodes? What was the inspiration behind this collection?

Hall: I would have to think back, because the conversation started in 2019. I knew that I was going to do chicken potpie because my whole culinary career runs parallel with me making chicken potpie. My first job was making ice cream. I love ice cream, so I knew that was going to be in there. And then I'm from Nashville, so hot chicken. A lot of the dishes that we chose have something to do with me personally, and I was just curious about this journey and where it would take me. I would have never thought that the hot chicken journey would take me to Ghana looking at all the spices and being at the market there. We were looking for really interesting journeys, and there's so many other places that I would love to go.

EatingWell: Were there any dishes pitched for an episode that didn’t make the cut?

Hall: I wanted to do something very simple like pancakes, but we didn't get to do it because they didn't think there was enough variety in terms of cooking. The reason I wanted to do it was because what happens when you have the ingredients that are available in a country and that are readily available, but you still do something very different with them, with spices and things like that when you get to that country, right? Everybody has some kind of doughnut but the texture is different.

EatingWell: Favorite ice cream flavor?

Hall: Interestingly enough, if I go to a new ice cream spot, I will always get the vanilla because you can't hide behind the vanilla. But I love butter pecan. I love butter pecan and strawberry. Butter pecan, strawberry and peach—it's hard for me to decide amongst the three of those. I may get all three and then if I had chocolate sauce, that would be amazing and with toasted almonds, please!

Related: Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Read the original article on Eating Well.