Serves 8 • Preparation: 30 minutes • Cooking time: 30 minutes • Oven temperature: 180°C
• 300g fresh spinach, leaves and veins separated
• 60ml butter
• 30ml olive oil
• 4 large spring onions, white parts chopped
• 60ml cake flour
• 300ml milk
• 6 cooked chicken breasts, shredded
• 80ml fresh mint and dill, chopped
• freshly grated nutmeg
• 300g feta, crumbled
• 1 egg, beaten
• 8 sheets phyllo pastry, thawed
• about 125ml melted butter
• 125g thinly sliced ham
1 Blanch the spinach leaves by immersing them in boiling water; refresh immediately in cold water, squeeze dry and chop finely.Set aside. Chop the spinach veins. Melt the butter and olive oil together and fry the spinach veins and spring onions together until soft and glossy. Stir in the cake flour and fry for a minute. Gradually beat in the milk and stir to form a thick sauce. Stir in the chicken, spinach leaves and herbs, season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg and leave to cool slightly before you also mix in the feta and egg. Set aside.
2 Brush a 2L ring pan with melted butter. Brush four sheets of phyllo pastry with butter and stack them on top of each other; repeat with four more sheets so you have two stacks of four greased sheets each. Line the prepared pan with the pastry so that the extra pastry hangs over the edge.
3 Preheat the oven. Arrange a layer of ham on top of the pastry in the ring pan and spoon the chicken filling on top.
4 Fold the overhanging pastry over the filling and brush it again with butter. Bake the pie for 30 minutes. Let the cooked pie stand for 10 minutes, then carefully turn it out onto a serving platter. The ring pan ensures that the bottom, which is now on top, is also baked to a beautiful golden-brown. Garnish with a sprinkling of fresh herbs and serve in thick slices.
This chicken pie filling is packed with herb flavours that surprise with every bite.
CREAMY CHICKEN AND MUSHROOM STEW
Chicken fricassee is a traditional French stew made with butter-fried chicken in a creamy white wine and mushroom sauce. The fried brown mushrooms are optional; if you don't add them, stir the parsley into the cream sauce before serving.
Makes 4 decadent servings
• Preparation: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
• 4 chicken drumsticks
• 4 chicken thighs
• 30ml butter
• 15ml olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 300g mixed mushrooms, chopped
• 30ml flour
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 sprigs thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 125ml dry white wine
• about 350ml chicken stock
• 250ml cream
• another 30ml butter
• 8 big brown mushrooms
• 30ml chopped flat-leaf parsley
Pat the chicken pieces dry. Using a knife, make two or three deep incisions through the skin and flesh to the bone of each piece. Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Melt the butter and oil in a heavy-bottomed pan with a tight-fitting lid and fry the chicken pieces until well browned all over (about 10 minutes). Remove from the pan. Using the same pan, sauté the onions for a few minutes; add a splash of water to the pan, then cook a little longer until the liquid has cooked off– this will allow the onions to soften before they start to brown. Remove the onions; set aside with the chicken, then fry the chopped mushrooms. Add an extra dash of oil to brown the mushrooms, if necessary. (You can Return the chicken and onions to the pan; add the flour, garlic, thyme and bay leaves and stir through. Add the wine and cook rapidly until the liquid has reduced by half. If there are any brown bits on the bottom of the pan, scrape them loose now. Add the stock to the pan and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover with a lid and simmer for about 20 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer for another 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, dish the chicken pieces onto a hot plate. Stir the cream into the sauce and simmer until it thickens. (You can thicken the sauce more quickly by making a paste consisting of another tablespoon of flour mixed with a little cream and stirring it into the sauce, then cooking it for a few minutes.) Remove the sprigs of herbs from the sauce and return the chicken to the pan. Melt the extra butter in another pan and fry the big brown mushrooms until tender and golden-brown. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the parsley. Spoon on top of the chicken stew and serve.
