RCP: Chicken and artichoke 'pie'

[Jenise]

Someone mentioning a barigoule yesterday reminded me that a recent tasting note on this board referenced a chicken and artichoke pie recipe by Paula Wolfert that they had a particular wine with, and that description intrigued me. So I googled that description just now and managed to find ostensibly that recipe posted on another website (for people who have had bariatric surgery!!!). It's even more intriguing than I had imagined with all that cumin and cinnamon and the phyllo encasement, and I can't wait to give it a go. In the meantime, if y'all will forgive me for posting something unvetted, thought I'd share.


Paula Wolfert's Chicken and Artichoke Pie

Ingredients:
4 small or 3 large chicken breasts
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cinnamon; another 1 tsp set aside for later
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 cup chicken stock
some olive oil
2 leeks, chopped
a handful of chopped parsley (about 1/2 a bunch)
a handful of chopped cilantro (same)
2 jars artichoke hearts (canned in oil), chopped
200 g feta cheese, crumbled
2 eggs
phyllo dough sheets (about a dozen for a large pie)
butter, melted (about 2-3 oz)

Preparation:
Bake chicken, covered, at moderate heat with spices and stock, about 30 mins; chop the chicken into small chunks, reserve about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid for later.

Stir-fry chopped leeks with olive oil (about 10 mins, until they are soft).

Combine chicken, reserved juices, leeks, parsley, cilantro, artichokes, feta cheese, egg, and the extra cinnamon in a bowl; mix well.

Be careful not to let the phyllo dough sheets dry out (I roll them back up every time I take one sheet). Melt the butter; use a pastry brush to spread butter all over the sheet. Put the sheet into a greased baking dish, so that the edges hang over. Continue until you have about a dozen sheets, arranged all around the dish. Scoop the filling into the dish; fold over the edges of the pastry sheets. If the pie is not fully covered, butter up a few more sheets and arranged them in the middle so everything is covered. Brush the top of the pie with butter.

For a large pie, bake for 20 mins at a moderate-high temperature (I usually go for 350); then for another 20 mins at moderate temperature (e.g. 300), until the pastry is golden.

This looks delicious to me, Jenise. I'll probably never make it in this form, since Gail doesn't like artichokes.

[Edited to remove bariatric comments that I was possibly misinformed on]

Oh, that sounds good. I think it'll go on the menu for next week.

Jenise, In broad outline this resembles my bsteeya recipe. (The bsteeya does not have cheese and there is a whole lot more work with sugar and almonds but it is, at heart, a spiced chicken pie.)

This does really sound good. Thanks for posting. I think my picky spouse will enjoy.

[Jenise]

This looks delicious to me, Jenise. I'll probably never make it in this form, since Gail doesn't like artichokes.

[Edited to remove bariatric comments that I was possibly misinformed on]

Don't worry about whatever you edited it out--it was probably the same thing I thought when I realized where I was.

Too bad about Gail and artichokes!

[Jenise]

Jenise, In broad outline this resembles my bsteeya recipe. (The bsteeya does not have cheese and there is a whole lot more work with sugar and almonds but it is, at heart, a spiced chicken pie.)

Yes, I thought that too--same construct, different flavors.