Greek Chicken Phyllo Pies
10 chicken thighs
5 cups water
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1-2 (17 ounce) packages commercial frozen phyllo pastry, thawed
1 cup melted butter
Tomato sauce (recipe follows)
Combine first 6 ingredients in a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 40 minutes or until tender. Remove chicken, and cool slightly. Bone chicken, cutting meat into bite-size pieces; set aside. Remove and discard celery and bay leaf, reserving 3 cups broth and onion mixture; set aside.
Melt butter in a Dutch oven over low heat; add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add reserved broth mixture; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Gradually stir about one-fourth of hot mixture into eggs; add to remaining hot mixture, stirring constantly. Add cheese and next 4 ingredients. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, about 3 minutes or until thickened. Add chicken and set aside.
Unfold phyllo, and cut the stack of sheets in half crosswise. Trim each half to a 13 x 9-inch rectangle. Cover with a slightly damp towel to prevent pastry from drying out.
Coat the bottom of a baking pan with melted butter. Brush 6 phyllo sheets with melted butter stacking them. Make 12 stacks. Spread 1/12 of chicken mixture on one end of phyllo, leaving ½ inch around the edges. Fold the phyllo over the chicken mixture and fold in the sides to encase the chicken. Brush each with melted butter.
Bake, uncovered, on lowest rack in oven at 375 degrees F for 1 hour or until golden brown.
Place each packet on a bed of tomato sauce.
Yields 12 servings.
Tomato Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2/3 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup dry red wine
Honey (optional)
Crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
Heat the olive oil over medium heat.
Sauté the onion with a pinch of salt until soft, about 8 minutes.
Add the garlic, cinnamon, and oregano, and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the wine, swirl it around the pan, and then add the tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 8 minutes. Add the chopped parsley.
Check the seasoning, and add honey if the sauce tastes acidic.
Cover the sauce and set aside.
When ready to serve place a bed of sauce on 12 plates, add crumbled feta cheese and top each with a chicken packet.