Filo Chicken Pie

Not the most exciting meal ever, on Friday evening ... other than the fact that it was the first meal cooked in our new oven!  It was also (believe it or not!) my first experience of cooking with filo pastry ... I've eaten it plenty of times, but never got around to using it myself.  Given that it's also a temperamental thing to work with at the best of times, and that it had been in our freezer longer than it should have been (and therefore drying out, somewhat), it probably wasn't the best choice of ingredients to use in a "semi-detached" kitchen ... fridge, sink, cupboards & everything else in the old kitchen; cooker and no worktop next door in the new kitchen!

Still, cook it I did and in fact it wasn't too bad.  The pastry could have been a little crisper, but the filling was yummy.  I pan-fried a couple of boneless chicken thighs (cubed) and some chopped smoked bacon, then added some sliced mushrooms and 1" lengths of asparagus, before stirring in some Philadelphia soft cheese and a little mustard to make a creamy sauce.  I thinned it down with a little milk/cream and left it simmering while I dealt with the pastry.  I followed (more or less!) the "layering" process described on the filo packet, but putting the filling in all in one layer, brushed the top with oil, then cooked it all for about half and hour.

We served it with a lovely big salad and half a jacket potato each, topped with a dollop of coleslaw.  Incidentally, it was very nice cold for lunch the following day, too!

V  I'm sure most vegetarians who cook for themselves are familiar with filo pastry and will have their own favourite recipes.  The Greek dish, spanakopita, is basically filo pastry stuffed with spinach and feta cheese - but personally, I think I'd fill mine with a lovely creamy mushroom concoction ... perhaps with some smoked paprika for a bit of extra warmth.  Lush!