Book of Greek Cooking pp.88–89
Serves 6–8
Preparation / Cooking time: allow about 3h all told
(stages 1–3 could be done in advance, if preferred)
Advance preparation: You will need to have a batch of chicken stock to hand for this recipe; it really isn't one where a stock cube would do.
For Easter, the Mammal dined on an old favourite; this Greek dish does not feature on the everyday menu, but gets rolled out several weekends a year when there is chicken stock in the freezer and the time to devote to its rather leisurely cooking and preparation. It is an absolute corker of a pie, full of flavour. Kefalotiri cheese can be hard to come by, and the approved substitute is parmesan or similar, but we've frequently committed the sin of using cheddar and that tastes fine, too, as well as being easier on the pocket. It can be served with salad, steamed veg, anything that offers a 'clean' and simple taste to complement the richness of the pie.
The recipe is reproduced from Lesley Mackley's The Book of Greek Cooking, which is well worth a look; tantalizingly, the Google Books preview shows the first but not the second page of the recipe, so I'm afraid the Mammal has had to engage in a minor act of piracy here.
Ingredients
1.5 kg chicken
chicken stock
450g onions, sliced
150ml (2/3 cup) milk
115g (½ cup) melted butter
3 tsp of lemon juice
115g (1 cup) grated kefalotiri cheese [or substitute parmesan or romano]
Salt and pepper
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
3 tsp chopped fresh parsley
2 eggs, beaten
12 sheets filo pastry
Salad leaves, to garnish
Method
1. Put chicken in a flameproof casserole into which it fits tightly. Pour in enough stock to almost cover legs. Cover chicken breast with a sheet of buttered greaseproof paper. Cover casserole and simmer for 1 hour or until chicken is just cooked. Remove chicken from casserole and leave to cool.
2. Add onions and milk to stock. Boil rapidly uncovered, until liquid is reduced to 300ml (1 ¼ cups) of thick pulpy onion sauce. Preheat oven to 180C (350F/Gas 4). [Inner Mammal's note—boil rapidly, my furry a***: this takes forever!]
3. Remove chicken skin. Cut meat into neat pieces and place in a large bowl. Add onion sauce, half the butter, the lemon juice, cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg, parsley and eggs. Mix together well.
4. Lightly butter a 20 x 30 cm (8 x 12 in) roasting tin. Brush one sheet of pastry with butter and place in a tin, overlapping edges. Brush 5 more sheets of pastry and layer them on top.
5. Spread the filling over the pastry. Flap over-lapping pastry over the top. Cut remaining sheets of pastry to fit in. Brush with butter and layer on top. Score top into squares and sprinkle with water. Bake for 45 mins or until golden brown and crisp.
© Lesley Mackley / Salamander Books
