Name: Chicken phyllo pie with roasted veggies
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Bake
Ingredients: 15 pickling onions peeled, halved; 1 butternut peeled, cubed; 1/2 red pepper seeded, sliced into strips; 1/2 yellow pepper seeded, sliced into strips; 1 tbsp soft brown sugar; 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar; 2 tbsp olive oil; 8 fresh rosemary sprigs; 8 fresh thyme sprigs; salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste; 4 chicken thighs deboned or chicken fillets, cubed; 250 g cherry tomatoes halved; 1 cup sour cream; 1/4 cup basil pesto; 150 g broccoli cut into florets; 5 tbsp fresh herbs chopped; 8 phyllo pastry sheets; 50 ml butter and olive oil melted together

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Ingredients (18)

FILLING

15	pickling onions — peeled, halved
1	butternut — peeled, cubed
1/2	red pepper — seeded, sliced into strips
1/2	yellow pepper — seeded, sliced into strips
1 tbsp	soft brown sugar
2 tbsp	balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp	olive oil
8	fresh rosemary sprigs
8	fresh thyme sprigs
	salt and freshly ground black pepper — to taste
4	chicken thighs — deboned or chicken fillets, cubed
250 g	cherry tomatoes — halved
1 cup	sour cream
1/4 cup	basil pesto
150 g	broccoli — cut into florets
5 tbsp	fresh herbs — chopped

PYLLO

8	phyllo pastry sheets
50 ml	butter and olive oil — melted together

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Method:

For the filling:

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Place all the vegetables, except the tomatoes and the broccoli, in a single layer on a large baking tray. Sprinkle the sugar over and drizzle with vinegar and oil. Add the sprigs of herbs and season to taste. Roast for 20 minutes.

Season the chicken and tomatoes and mix into the vegetables. Roast for another 10 minutes until the chicken and vegetables are just cooked.

For the phyllo:

Brush two sheets of phyllo pastry, on one side each, with the oil mixture and place on top of one another. Line the bottom of a 25 x 35 cm-oven dish or pan with the buttered phyllo, making sure that it reaches about 1-2 cm above the edge of the dish. (Phyllo that shows above the filling gives a delicious-looking end result).

Repeat this process with the rest of the phyllo and oil mixture, overlapping the sheets to cover the base of the dish.

Mix the sour cream and pesto together. Stir the broccoli and the herbs into the filling. Season to taste and spoon onto the phyllo pastry. Pour the sour cream mixture over.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or just until the phyllo pastry is golden brown and the filling is hot.

Serve with a green salad.

Phyllo tips

Phyllo pastry is ideal for both sweet and savoury fillings. A filling can be spooned onto the pastry, wrapped in it or folded into a parcel. Phyllo pastry is available fresh or frozen. If frozen, allow it to defrost in the fridge for a few hours before using it. Fresh phyllo is easier to work with and usually gives a better end result.
Phyllo pastry dries out very quickly. Cover any sheets that still need to be brushed with butter or oil with a clean, dry dish towel. Place a damp dish towel over the dry one to prevent the pastry from drying out. This way the sheets remain moist but doesn’t become sticky, as the damp dish towel is not in direct contact with the pastry.

Recipe from Kos is op die tafel, by Heleen Meyer. Photography by Adel Ferreira.