Chicken, Olive & Preserved Lemon Skillet Pie

Method

1. Bring Fillo pastry in its packaging to room temperature before beginning this recipe.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the leeks and cook covered for 15 minutes until soft. Add ground cumin, stir through and continue to cook for a further minute. Add lemons and stir, check for seasoning, remove from heat.
3. In a 26cm sauté pan frying pan, heat a tablespoon olive oil and cook the chicken in batches until browned, season with salt and pepper.
4. Add the leek mixture to the chicken. Sprinkle over the flour and stir in, cook for 2 minutes then gradually add the chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a simmer, reduce to low and cook for 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Stir in the olives and parsley, check for seasoning. Turn off the heat and leave in the pan. Preheat oven to 180C fan-forced (200C conventional).
5. Melt the 100g butter in a small saucepan over low heat, once melted remove from heat. Remove fillo from packaging and cover with a dry tea towel to prevent it drying out. Lay one sheet of pastry on your work surface, using a pastry brush, brush liberally with melted butter, place this on top of the pie filling in the pan, scrunching around the edges to stay within the pan. Continue with a further 7 sheets of fillo, gently scrunching them to create a ruffled look. Once complete drizzle over any extra melted butter. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Serve straight from the pan.

Notes

Tip: when brushing the fillo with butter, ensure you brush around the edge of each sheet first to prevent drying out.