Moroccan Chicken Pie With Feta And Artichokes
Instructions
Place chicken thighs in a large, heavy based saucepan in a single layer, skin side down. Sprinkle with spices. Add hot water and Chicken Stock Powder. Put a lid on the saucepan and simmer very slowly, for about 1 hour, until the chicken is really tender. Turn chicken, skin side up, and allow to cool in the stock.
Preheat a heavy based frying pan. Add butter and oil. Add onions and season them lightly with Green Onion Seasoning. Saut the onions until they are soft and lightly browned. Take time over this, it will take 10-15 minutes. Browning the onions properly is one of the secrets of this dish. Remove pan from the heat.
Remove chicken from the stock. Reserve the stock, strip off meat and discard the skin and bones. Using two forks shred the meat into long thin strips with the grain. Add the meat to the browned onion. Add feta, roughly chopped boiled eggs and chopped fresh herbs.
Blot excess fat off the stock with a double layer of absorbent paper towel. Whisk White Sauce Powder into the reserved stock. No need to cook, it will thicken in the oven. Add to chicken mixture. Taste for seasoning and add Green Onion Seasoning to taste if needed.
Carefully unroll the phyllo pastry. Keep it covered with a slightly damp cloth to prevent it from drying out. Brush one sheet with melted butter and line a 25 cm round ovenproof dish with it, leaving the pastry edges to hang over the sides. Turn the dish slightly clockwise. Repeat with four more buttered sheets of pastry, turning every time. The points of the pastry will form a star all around the dish.
Spoon the filling into the dish. Position one whole artichoke in the middle of the filling so that it sits on top of the filling. Cut the remaining artichokes into quarters and arrange on top of the filling. Fold the star points of phyllo pastry back onto the filling.
Butter another sheet of phyllo and tent it on top of the pie. Repeat with the final two sheets of pastry. All this preparation can be done in advance. The pie can be kept refrigerated for a day or two or frozen for a month.
TO BAKE:preheat oven to 180C. Bake pie for about 30-40 minutes. A frozen pie will take at least another 10 minutes. If the top browns too quickly, cover it with baking paper or foil.
When the pie comes out of the oven brush it lightly with gold dust before serving, for a final touch of glamour!
