Traveling the World, One Plate at A Time: Kotopita (Greek Chicken Pie)

Before I write about my next fun plan for this blog, I'd like to begin this entry by giving a special thanks to Heather of Sweet Sins 2 Share. As a result of her kindness, my Berry Vanilla Cake is now featured on TasteSpotting :). She sent me a comment a few days ago letting me know that she submitted the cake. I thought it was such a nice surprise, but I had to laugh a little at the discovery, knowing full well that I initially held-off posting that cake on the blog because I thought the picture was somewhat unyummy! To be honest, before posting the cake recipe, both Jose (my husband) and I agreed that it looked like it had some kinda growth on its surface, as in fungus-amongus! Despite the fact that it is a very tasty cake, I didn't think it was a very photogenic one, which is why I was happily surprised when it received so many positive comments :). I'm glad you all like it, and thank you, again, Heather for being so thoughtful. I only hope my little confession didn't disgust anyone...but don't judge a cake by it's frosting, or lack thereof :)!

As for my fun plan for this blog: I hope to start posting at least one new 'world dish' recipe per week, I'll title these entries Traveling the World, One Plate at A Time. Lately, I've been getting bored with eating the same old, same old, and both Jose and I are really interested in trying new flavors and foods. As a result, I've made it a point to try a new dish at least once a week. In the same way that reading a variety of fiction and poetry can play a role improving your writing skills, tasting new foods with rich ingredients can contribute to making you a better cook. So in trying these new foods from around the world, I hope to gain a better understanding of how different spices work together and how I can incorporate these new flavors into my everyday dinners. I guess you can say that I'll be giving a heavy nod to fusion cooking, but in a very informal and laid back way.

Part of what inspired me to start this new foodie adventure was last week's Caribbean stew. Until that meal, I'd never had sweet potato in a dish that wasn't sweet. I loved how the sweetness brought out the flavor of the other familiar vegetables in a way that made them taste new to me. So this week Jose and I decided to go Greek. If you're interpreting that in the literal sense, he could totally pull it off much better than I ever could - with his head of curls and greco-roman profile, he looks just like a little philosopher :). Funny thing is, he studied philosophy as an undergrad...and you know what philosophia means? Lover of Wisdom...and he is just that...he loves me, I am Sophia (my name means wisdom in Greek). It's oh so cheesy but true :)!

This is a picture I had fun with, and if you check out his blog profile you can see an unedited one...see what I mean :D!


Ok...Ok...so I'll get back to the dish. Kotopita is like a Greek chicken pot pie that kind of reminds me of a quiche, but not; it's really in a category all its own, a very tasty category. Here's the recipe...many details, I know, but I'm trying to get a little more specific when it comes to cooking instructions, because they can really make or break the recipe :). I'd also like to mention that I was inspired by a few recipes, including this one. I found a few others that included vegetables like leeks, but I didn't have any at home and I didn't want to add any veggies that would take away from the theme of the dish. I'll definitely use leeks next time, though, they're one of my favorite veggies.

Kotopita
1 1/2 pounds chicken thigh
1 tsp fresh chopped mint
1 tsp fresh chopped marjoram
¼-1/2 cup flour
2 1/2 TBSP butter
2 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP dehydrated bell peppers (red and green)
Pepper
Garlic salt
1 tsp nutmeg
½ tsp allspice
¼-1/2 cup kefalotyri cheese
3 eggs lightly scrambled
1 ½ cups chicken broth
¼ cup warm water
8 sheets of filo dough
3 large handfuls of spinach
1 small can black olives (2.25 oz)
½ large sweet onion, sliced

Sprinkle chicken thigh with pepper and garlic salt, cook covered with glass lid over low-medium flame in about 2 TBSP olive oil. Once the chicken is cooked, add 3 large handfuls of cleaned spinach and olives (with olive juice) to the chicken drippings/olive oil. Cook for about 2 minutes. Set chicken/vegetables aside in a separate bowl but keep drippings in the pan. After the chicken cools, cut it into bite-size pieces.

Add ¼ cup water to the drippings in the pan, along with the 1 ½ cups chicken broth (I buy the already prepared organic one in a box, it's a great thing to have on-hand!); also add the 2 ½ TBSP butter. Slowly add the flour while stirring broth mixture as it cooks over a low flame. Once the mixture thickens and there aren’t any flour lumps, turn off the flame and add the dehydrated bell peppers, onion slivers, nutmeg, and allspice. Allow the now-sauce to cool (it can still be warm, just not hot).

When the sauce is cool, add the cheese and 3 eggs (mix the eggs in the pan with the sauce). Line pie pan with 6 sheets of filo dough; add the chicken/veggies, then pour the sauce on top – mix the pie contents.

To avoid wasting filo dough, fold the excess filo dough that’s hanging off the pie pan edges over the pie contents (chicken/veggies/sauce). Use the last two sheets of filo dough to create a dome over the pie; tuck the excess filo dough under the pie. You can now either add some of the sauce that might still be in the pan to the filo pie cover, or brush on an egg white. Create 3 medium-sized slits over the pie.

Bake in the oven for about 40-45 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. Allow to cool for five minutes, then cut and serve! After making this, you'll definitely be hungry, and it smells heavenly!