Greek Chicken Turnovers

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

68 people added this to their Recipe Box

This recipe makes 24 pieces servings

Nutritional Info
Per piece: about	-
cal	157157 cal
pro	8 g8g pro
total fat	9 g9g total fat
sat. fat	5 g5g sat. fat
carb	10 g10g carb
fibre	1 g1g fibre
chol	55 mg55mg chol
sodium	345 mg345mg sodium
%RDI:	-
calcium	66 calcium
iron	99 iron
vit A	1313 vit A
vit C	1515 vit C
folate	1212 folate

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There's no single recipe for chicken pie, or kotapita, in Greece. Instead, this flaky pie is make with ingredients on hand, which often include a firm sheep's milk cheese, such as Kefaloteri or Kefalograviera. This mixture of Romano and feta cheeses has a similar flavour. Enjoy these individual turnovers with rice and salad.

Ingredients

10 chicken thighs , (about 2 lb/1 kg)10 10chicken thighchicken thighs, (about 2 lb/1 kg)
6 whole cloves 6 6whole cloves
6 peppercorns 6 6peppercorns
1-1/2 cups chicken stock 1-1/2 1-1/2cups cupschicken stock
2/3 cup butter 2/3 2/3cup cupbutter
1 onion , chopped1 1oniononions, chopped
1 sweet red pepper , chopped1 1sweet red peppersweet red peppers, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 1/4cup cupall-purpose flour
2 eggs , lightly beaten2 2eggeggs, lightly beaten
1 cup fresh bread crumbs 1 1cup cupfresh bread crumbs
3/4 cup grated romano cheese 3/4 3/4cup cupgrated romano cheese
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese 3/4 3/4cup cupcrumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup lemon juice 1/4 1/4cup cuplemon juice
1-1/2 tsp dried mint 1-1/2 1-1/2tsp tspdried mint
3/4 tsp each salt and pepper 3/4 3/4tsp tspeach salt and pepper
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg 1/4 1/4tsp tspgrated nutmeg
1/2 1/2bag bagfresh spinach, (about 5 cups/1.25 L)
12 sheets phyllo pastry 12 12sheets sheetsphyllo pastry

Preparation

In Dutch oven, combine chicken thighs, cloves, peppercorns, stock and 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) cold water; bring to simmer over medium heat. Skim off foam. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until chicken is tender, about 1 hour.

In sieve set over large bowl, strain stock mixture; let cool. Skim fat from stock. Remove skin, fat and bones from chicken. Chop chicken into bite-size pieces; transfer to separate large bowl. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate stock and chicken until cold. Cover and refrigerate for up to 14 hours.)

In saucepan, melt 2 tbsp (25 mL) butter over medium heat; fry chopped onion and red pepper, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.

Add flour; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Whisk in 1-1/2 cups (375 mL) of the stock; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, whisking, until thickened and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Pour over chicken.

Add eggs, fresh bread crumbs, Romano cheese, feta cheese, lemon juice, mint, salt pepper and nutmeg; stir to combine. Let cool.

Meanwhile, trim spinach if necessary; rinse and shake off excess water. In large saucepan, cover and cook spinach; with just water clinging to leaves, over medium-high heat until wilted, about 5 minutes. Drain into sieve; let cool. Press out liquid; chop coarsely. Add to chicken mixture.

Melt remaining butter. Place 2 phyllo sheets on work surface; cover remaining phyllo with damp cloth to prevent from drying out. Using ruler and sharp knife, cut sheet lengthwise into 4 strips, each about 4 inches (10 cm) wide.

Lightly brush each strip with butter. Spoon 1/4 cup (50 mL) of the filling about 1/2 inch (1 cm) from the end of each strip. Fold 1 corner of phyllo strip over filling so bottom edge of phyllo meets side edge to form triangle. Fold up triangle. Continue folding triangle sideways and upward until end of phyllo is reached. Brush with butter.

Working quickly, form triangles with remaining strips. Repeat with remaining phyllo sheets and filling. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 4 hours or freeze between waxed paper in airtight container for up to 2 months. Bake frozen, adding 3 minutes to time.) Bake in 375°F (190°C) oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Additional information : Tip: if the feta cheese is dry and crumbly, stir 1 tbsp (15 mL) cream into cheese until smooth.

Source : Canadian Living Magazine: April 2005