This is a great way to use up Thanksgiving turkey or, just thinking out loud here, some chicken from a Julia Child recipe that you might have messed up and might have thrown a big hissy fit about while your wife sat in the dining room eating it alone and drinking her French wine and saying ‘It still tastes good to me.’ That of course didn’t happen in these parts.
In any case, we had some leftover chicken and phyllo dough to use up and did so three ways. A standard crust, a turnover style (it was supposed to be a turnover but it looks burrito-esque) and a layering technique. Hands down, the chicken baklava won. It crisped up nicely and was a great way to let the filling and dough shine. It was a thing of beauty really. Sort of like the swear words coming out of someone’s mouth after four wasted hours of cooking chicken only to have it *&(&^*%^$ fall apart at the last ^($&#$&* minute.
Phyllo Pot Pies
- Half a box prepared phyllo dough, one sleeve
- 1 12-ounce bag frozen peas
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1/2 cup steamed carrots, diced
- 1/2 cup mushrooms
- 4 cups chopped chicken or turkey
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/3 cup flour
- 2/3 cup milk
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- salt/pepper to taste
- olive oil
In a large saute pan, melt butter over medium heat. Saute onions until tender, about 3 minutes, then add mushrooms. Cook until tender and water has released, about five minutes. Stir in flour and mix to coat the vegetables. Pour in chicken broth and milk and cook until thick and bubbly. Stir in peas and carrots. Cook until peas are warmed through to ensure you don’t water down the mix. Adjust seasoning and add parsley. Remove from heat.
For the baklava-style, grease a large casserole dish or lasagna pan, about 9 by 13. Put a layer of four sheets of phyllo dough at the bottom, brushing every other sheet with a bit of olive oil. Cover with a thin layer of the filling and then repeat, ending with phyllo dough. Brush top sheet with olive oil. To simply make a crust, grease the pan, fill with filling and top with five to seven layers of phyllo dough. Brush each layer with olive oil. Don’t bother with the turnover style, they don’t taste as good and might end up looking like burritos.
I just got The Art of French Cooking for a steal at a local used bookstore. I flipped through it a couple of times and I am so excited to try some new recipes. Might you tell me which one to avoid? Or was operator error at the root of the problem?
Well, it was probably operator error, but roasting the chicken and then cutting it did make for a tender mess. It’s the chicken in cream with port and cognac. Lots of great stuff in the book though. Try her spinach with cream.
Alright. Thanks for the suggestion. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
All 3 variations SOUNDED like they would have worked. Well, you cook and you learn. 🙂
Greg, your post got messed up at the very end… would you mind clarifying what are those strange symbols about the outcome of your chicken dish? 😉
love phyllo, maybe it was a convoluted way to get to this great recipe, but… worth it!
🙂
Damn good thing non of that happened! But if it did, what a clever way to save the day, and get a great post about it.
I think it was probably fate intervening and inspiring you to create Chicken Baklava, because HOLY COW does that sounds good!
Looks delicious! Great idea ..
Good thing you have spell-check to get those expletives correct!
Happy Thanksgiving to you both. Cook your hearts out. Well, not literally. Know you will be giving it your all in the kitchen. As always, everything looks delicious.
Great post, Greg! Too funny. Wishing you both a happy Thanksgiving!
That surely looks so crispy, Yum!
Nice save!
Good for Katherine – she got to eat dinner, while SOMEONE pitched a fit and pouted… 😉
This is a great idea for leftovers!!!
How fun are those pot pies? Way less intensive than making the crust from scratch.
Me o my I love pot pies. A pot pie and a salad is just the most cozy thing ever in the winter.l Maybe a leftover turkey pot pie is in my future. Happy Thanksgiving.
Glad I am not the only one who fluffs recipes sometimes. Happy Thanksgiving.
All 3 pies look great – who doesn’t love phyllo.
🙂 Mandy
Bahaha! Fails can be the best. Also, chicken baklava!
LOL! I’m sure that would never happen in your house. It’s certainly never happened here. Great way to salvage a meal – and in fact make it look dang good!
Experimentation gives birth to all sorts of wonderfully new ideas !
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