Slow-cooked chicken and pomegranate pies
Filo pies filled with slow-cooked chicken in a walnut and pomegranate sauce, served with a fresh coriander chutney.
🍳 Cook: 210 min
Ingredients
| 100 g | walnuts | |
| 400 g | chicken thigh, skinless and boneless | |
| 10 g | butter | |
| 1 tbsp | 15 ml | olive oil |
| 1 | onion, finely sliced | |
| 350 ml | chicken stock | |
| 100 ml | pomegranate molasses | |
| 1/2 tbsp | 7.5 ml | dark brown sugar |
| — | sea salt | |
| — | freshly ground black pepper | |
| 1/2 | pomegranate, seeds only | |
| 6 | filo pastry sheets | |
| 60 g | butter (to assemble) | |
| 75 g | coriander (optional chutney) | |
| 1 | lemon, juice only | |
| 50 ml | olive oil (chutney) | |
| 1/2 tsp | 2.5 ml | sugar |
| 1 pinch | sea salt, large pinch |
Instructions
4 portions. 3 hours 30 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.
- Place the walnuts on a baking tray in a single layer, then toast in the preheated oven for 10 minutes before leaving to cool down completely.
- Heat the olive oil and half of the butter in a large frying pan and add the chicken thighs. Brown them well for 3–4 minutes on each side until nicely golden brown, then remove and place in a casserole dish.
- Add the remaining butter to the frying pan, add the onions and cook on a medium-high heat for 10 minutes until golden brown, stirring occasionally.
- Lower the oven temperature to 150°C/gas mark 2.
- Transfer the onions to the casserole dish and add the chicken stock, pomegranate molasses, sugar and a good pinch of salt and pepper.
- Using a rolling pin or food processor, blitz the nuts to a fine powder then add them to the casserole dish. Stir well, then cover the dish and transfer to the oven for 2 hours.
- Once the chicken is cooked, shred the meat with 2 forks (as you would with pulled pork) and stir in the whole pomegranate seeds. Taste and season as needed with salt and pepper.
- At this stage, you can cool and refrigerate the filling and complete the pies the next day. If continuing to make the pies the same day, increase the oven temperature to 200°C/gas mark 6.
- Melt the butter in the microwave or in a small pan. Generously brush the inside of the pie dishes with the melted butter, then line each dish with half a sheet of filo pastry, gently pushing it into the edges.
- Butter the pastry on the inside, then repeat with 2 more layers of filo, leaving the extra pastry overlapping outside the dish.
- Place 3–4 heaped tablespoons of the chicken filling into the pie, then layer by layer, fold the filo pastry back over the filling, buttering each layer as you go.
- Butter the top of the pie, then make the remaining pies using the same process. Transfer the pies to the oven and bake for 20–25 minutes until golden brown and crisp.
- Meanwhile, make the coriander chutney. Place all of the ingredients in a food processor, blitz until smooth and adjust the sea salt to taste. Serve alongside the hot pies.
From http://www.greatbritishchefs.com/recipes/filo-chicken-pie-recipe