Greek cuisine · Dough, Pasta & Rice

Kotopita Ipirotiki

Epirus-style chicken pie: pulled chicken with herbs and béchamel between wafer-thin phyllo sheets.

Ingredients · for 6 servings

• 600 g boneless chicken thighs
• 400 g phyllo pastry
• 2 onions
• 1 leek
• 1/2 bunch dill
• 3 eggs
• 40 g butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 300 ml milk
• 150 g kefalotyri or parmesan
• 120 ml olive oil
• Salt, pepper

Instructions

1. Cook the chicken in 1.5 l lightly salted water over low heat for 30 min., lift out, let cool and shred coarsely with two forks; reserve 250 ml of the broth.
2. Dice the onions finely, cut the leek into fine rings and sauté both in 3 tbsp olive oil for 8 min. until soft, then stir in the finely chopped dill.
3. For the béchamel, melt the butter, sweat the flour for 1 min. until pale and pour in the milk along with the reserved broth while stirring constantly; simmer 4–5 min. until the sauce is thick as pudding.
4. Let the béchamel cool slightly, stir in the eggs and grated cheese and mix with the chicken and leek mixture into a moist but not runny filling; season generously with pepper.
5. Preheat the oven to 180°C top/bottom heat, brush a 30 cm dish with oil and lay in half the phyllo sheets one by one, brushing each thinly with olive oil.
6. Add the filling, cover with the remaining oiled sheets, tuck in the edges, score the surface into diamonds and bake for 45–50 min. until the pie is golden brown and crisp; let rest 15 min. and serve.