1 karen mintzias
1 chicken, stewed
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cup chicken broth/stock, warmed
1/4 cup milk, optional
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup grated cheese *(see note)
1 salt & freshly ground pepper
1 tsp grated nutmeg
1 thyme or mint leaves, chopped
12 commercial filo sheets
Directions
*Note: Suggested cheeses are either Mizithra or
Kefalotyri. If unavailable, Parmesan or Romano could
be substituted. :-(
Remove the bones and skin from chicken and discard.
With your fingers tear the chicken into strips, not
too small. Set aside while you prepare the sauce.
Melt the 4 T butter in a heavy pan, then blend in the
flour, without scorching, over medium heat. Remove
from the heat for a minute and stir in the warm broth,
then return to the heat and cook gently until the
sauce boils. Cool. Mix in the milk if the sauce
seems too thick, then add the eggs, cheese, a little
salt, pepper, nutmeg, and thyme.
Butter a 9 x 12 x 3-inch baking pan and in it spread 6
filo sheets, brushing each with melted butter. Pour
in the chicken filling, then cover with the remaining
filo sheets. Tuck the top filo over the bottom and
flute the edges. Score the top 3 filo sheets with a
sharp knife. Bake in a moderate oven (350 F) for 40
minutes, or until crisp and golden chestnut in color.
Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes before
cutting into 9 to 12 squares. Serve warm. (Serves 9
to 12)
Note: In Epirus, Kotopita is sometimes made with a
large amount of onions. If you would like to try it,
use the recipe above plus 1 pound of Spanish- type
onions. Peel and slice the onions, boil in water for
5 minutes, and drain. Prepare the sauce without the
cheese and bake the chicken and onions in the sauce,
between homemade filo, preferably, or commercial filo.
From: "The Food of Greece" by Vilma Liacouras
Chantiles. Avenel Books, New York.
Typed for you by Karen Mintzias
Servings: 10 servings
Kotopita (Greek Chicken Pie) Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Bread; Breads; Chicken; Dessert; Pie
The History of Recipes
Written cooking instructions as a concept can be tracked back into distant history, in truth as far into history as the early Egyptians, and maybe even further. However, these, early cookbooks were just basic pictorial, hieroglyphic or cunieform instructions for meal preparation.
In an interesting twist, the most ancient recipe discovered, according to Professor Solomon Katz, is a collection of clay tablets in Sumerian which describe the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making drinkers feel wonderful. Later on, in The time of the romans 25BC a man called Apicius compiled a number of scripts which described recipes cooked by wealthy Romans. In his works, Apicius tells us how the meals were separated into appetizers, main course and desserts, something we still use today. Aspicius recounts how the Romans were skilled in the use of a good variety of aromatic flavours, including some familiar names such as bay, rue and parsley. Moving our culinary historical trip onwards, there are two interesting recipe books dating from the 1300s - a recipe book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary named `Curye on Inglish`. Perhaps surprisingly, these two books are not about the indian curry that is familiar to us all today, but rather accounts of the types of meals on the menus of the rich and wealthy people of those days. Later on, in the 15th century, knights returning from the crusades brought us many new foods, spices and herbs from the holy land, including spices such as coriander, parsley, and basil. The introduction of these new foods and spices led to an increase in books on cookery, most of which still exist in private cookery archives. Over the succeeding few centuries, the wealthy families of Wesstern Europe tried to serve up the best banquets, and consequentially chefs and their recipes were highly sought after. Nevertheless, it was during the nineteenth century that cookery and recipe books really came of age. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, devoted much of their lives to collecting, trying out, and writing down recipes for their fellow cooks to enjoy. When we get to the 20th century, recipe publications are starting to become popular due to better eduction, increased leisure time and being a little richer. The TV revolution brought us celebrity TV chefs and the spin-off recipe books. And that pretty much brings us to the present day and the internet revolution, permitting everybody to access massive numbers of recipes such as those found on our site. |
We hope you enjoy this Kotopita (Greek Chicken Pie) recipe.
