Greek Chicken Pie
Description
Since we love all things phyllo, this was an easy pick to try straight out of America’s Test Kitchen’s, ‘The Chicken Bible’. Actually quite quick, and absolutely straight forward, this is a fun change up to a regular everyday casserole, and it’s perfect with a green salad for any day of the week. The measurements are rather flexible which adds to the ease of prep, and also to note, with both the feta and the olives, i didn’t add any more salt – enjoy!
Ingredients
~20, 9 x 13 sheets of phyllo, you likely have to thaw a whole box so you should have more than enough
olive oil spray for preparing the phyllo
Filling
2 lbs. ground chicken (or turkey)
~2 c. crumbled feta AND 3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 bunch of scallions (or green onions), chopped or sliced thinly
~1/2 c. pitted Kalamata olives, chopped
~1/3 c. chopped fresh mint
3 T. lemon juice AND 2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 t. freshly ground pepper AND 1/4 t. cayenne
~1/2 c. grated Parmesan
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400, heat a titch of oil in a large skillet and cook the chicken, breaking it up as you go, until it’s completely cooked through, then drain it well and scoop it all into a large mixing bowl.
To the bowl with the cooked chicken, add the feta, eggs, scallions, olives, mint, lemon juice, garlic, pepper and cayenne and stir well to combine.
Spray (with olive oil spray) your favorite 9 x 13 casserole dish or lasagna pan and line it with a sheet of phyllo, spray the phyllo and repeat until you have about 8 sheets lining the pan (I almost always lose count, I promise it doesn’t matter). Spread half of the chicken mix evenly into the dish and then cover with about 4 more sheets of phyllo, spraying between each sheet. Add the remaining chicken mix, layer with 7 or 8 more sheets of phyllo (with spray), but this time, also sprinkle a bit of Parmesan between the sheets. Thoroughly coat the final/top layer of phyllo with olive oil spray (but not Parmesan).
Working from the center and moving outwards, use your palms to gently press and squish out air bubbles while compacting the casserole. Use a sharp knife to score/cut through about half of the layers into serving-sized portions – this will make it all much easier to slice post-baking. If you’re making this ahead, you can now cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a day or so.
When ready to bake, plan to have the casserole at room temperature if it’s been in the fridge, and then bake for about 35 minutes until golden and crispy. Allow the phyllo pie to rest for about 15 minutes before slicing properly and serving.
