Saturday Night - Chicken Ricotta & Lemon Pie

Chicken Ricotta & Lemon Pie 
SERVES: 6
PREPARATION: 15 MINS 
COOKING: 30 MINS 

Well this one wasn't made on a Sunday but close! Saturdays tea is from another recipe I have tried out from the 1st MASTER CHEF magazine. It was really tasty! read my notes at the end for a couple of things I noticed. You can make this in an oven proof frypan (which I don't have) or a spring-form cake tin (which I do have!)

Fabulously zingy pie packed with greek flavours, great cold the next day for lunch as well! give it a try. 

Ingredients 
250g baby spinach
650g chicken breasts thickly sliced
2 cloves garlic crushed
2tsp chopped rosemary leaves
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil 
7 sheets filo pastry
1 lemon zested
6 eggs 
1 1/2 tbs plain flour
200g ricotta

Method

Preheat oven to 220C. Place spinach in a bowl, pour over boiling water and stand for 1 minute or until spinach has wilted. Drain and then refresh under cold water. Squeeze dry and chop finely.

Place chicken in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add garlic, rosemary and tbs of oil, and combine.

Heat a 26cm oven-proof or regular frying pan over high heat. Cook chicken in 2 batches, for 1 minute each side or until browned. Transfer to a bowl and reserve pan if using an oven proof one.

Brush reserved pan or a 26cm spring form cake pan with 1 tbs oil. Working quickly, fold 6 sheets of filo pastry in half, then arrange in the pan so they overlap, covering the base and extending 2cm above the rim. Drizzle with the remaining 1tbs oil. Cut the remaining sheet of filo pastry into shreds and scatter over the base (this helps to keep the base dry). Add the chicken. reserving juices in the bowl. 

Add lemon zest to chicken juices, then add eggs and flour. Whisk to combine. Pour over chicken. Scatter with spinach and ricotta. Scrunch overhanging pastry to form a rim. (see my notes)

If using an oven-proof pan, place over medium heat and cook for 3 minutes, then transfer to oven and bake on the lowest shelf for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the filling has set. If using a cake pan, bake for 20 minutes (see my notes) on a heavy based baking tray. Serve straight from the pan. 

Tips

Don't brush pastry edge with oil, as it will brown too quickly. 

If the pastry turns golden before the filling sets, cover the top of the pie with baking 

paper. 

My Notes

I generally prefer to work with the filo pastry from the fridge section of the supermarket (Antoniou Fillo) as I find it a lot easier to work with than the frozen type. However when you can't get hold of it the frozen type will have to do. It's really important to bring the pastry to room temperature in the box for at least an hour before you use it, otherwise it just crumbles. In between keep the pastry covered with a clean dry tea towel. 

Instead of scattering the spinach and ricotta over the top after the egg mixture was added, I added it before hand to get a more even distribution through the pie rather than just over the top. 

the 20 minute cooking time was NO where near the filling being set, I cooked mine for 35 - 40 minutes before filling was set. However I used a 22cm spring form cake pan and this could be the reason why.