Ingredients:
2 medium red potatoes, unpeeled, par boiled in salted water and cubed
2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cubed
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper, to taste
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onions, diced
3 1/2 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 anaheim chilies (optional) or 1 jalapeno peppers, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups chicken stock, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup snap peas, strings removed and cut in half ( or frozen regular peas if you wish)
8 sheets phyllo dough
1/4-1/2 cup butter, melted
2 cups baby spinach leaves, whole
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400f degrees.
Par boil scrubed, quartered, unpeeled potatoes in salted water, approximately 10 minutes, cool and cube into 1/2 inch pieces; set aside.
Place coriander, cumin, salt and pepper in plastic bag; add chicken cubes and shake to coat; refrigerate until ready to use.
In a large nonstick frypan, on medium high heat, melt 1/4 cup butter with olive oil, stir to mix.
Add onions and mushrooms, saute until onions are just beginning to turn brown, about 8 minutes; add garlic, Anaheim pepper(if using) and chicken cubes with spices and any accumulated juices in bag, cook, stirring for 4 minutes.
Add wine and deglaze pan, cook and stir another 2 minutes.
Add 1 cup chicken stock, cook and stir 1 minute.
In the meantime, add flour to 1/2 cup chicken stock and whisk until smooth; add to frypan while stirring to mix.
Bring to simmer, simmer 1 minute, or until thickened, add snap peas and potatoes.
Taste and adjust seasoning.
Remove from heat and set aside until ready to pour into prepared phyllo crust.
Phyllo Crust:.
On a dampened teatowel, lay out 8 phyllo pastry sheets; cover with a second dampened teatowel, keep covered while using so that it will not dry out.
Brush medium size casserole with melted butter.
Brush melted butter on one phyllo sheet, cover with a second sheet and brush second sheet with melted butter.
Place the two sheets in buttered casserole, with the sheet edges/corners hanging over the casserole edge.
Separate the spinach leaves into 4 piles, removing any long stems.
Place one pile of spinach leaves in a layer to cover the bottom of the casserole on top of the pastry sheets.
Repeat this 3 more times, rotating the pastry sheets so that the pastry corners are beside each other around the casserole edge; ending with a layer of spinach.
Pour chicken mixture into spinach lined crust; smooth top and fold edges of phyllo over filling with the corners meeting in the centre; turn phyllo corner ends up to form an opening for steam release.
Liberally brush top of pie with melted butter.
Place on centre rack in 400f degree oven for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350f degrees and bake a further 35 minutes or until filling is bubbling and pastry is golden and crisp.
Servings: 4
Time preparation: 30 min.
Time total: 97 min.