Chicken Florentine Phyllo Pie – A creamy, cheesy and delicious mixture of chicken and spinach nestled between crispy and flaky phyllo sheets.
Hey, you guys!
Happy Super Bowl Sundaaaaaay! Are YOU ready?! I’m NOT!
Look. If there’s no Bears in sight, I’m not really interested in watching, ya know? Which, if looked at it technically, the last time I truly watched a Bears Super Bowl, I was merely an infant. Or not. I think I was in school already, but still. It was a loooooong time ago. I should just throw in the towel and stop dreaming, buuuuut I ain’t no quitter! GO BEARS!
…there’s always next year…
…which is what I also say about the Cubs at every year’s World Series Game…
…and my blood pressure just went up a few notches in thinking about Chicago sports teams… let’s talk FOOD!
Once upon a time, while my parents were out of town, I decided to ditch mom’s frozen soups that she had made for us and create something delicious for my sister and I. While most 16-year olds would’ve inhaled the already made dinner, I took the more interesting route. I was a rebel in the kitchen from the get-go.
In my attempt to create something different, I took out the phyllo sheets, combined some not-so-tasty cheese-veggie-filling ingredients and made us a pie that didn’t quite work out. I used way too much filling for a pie with only 5 phyllo sheets. I had no idea what I was doing, but all I wanted was cheater-Zelnik, aka spinach and cheese pie.
Why am I telling you this, you ask?
Well, because it was at that moment that I realized I didn’t have to use the traditional spinach & cheese deal. A light went off in my little head and from thereon, as soon as I learned that 5 phyllo sheets was the dumbest thing ever, my fillings just kept getting more and more creative.
Case in point:
Butternut Squash and Spinach Pie
See? That’s a pretty delicious roster right there.
And this Chicken Florentine Phyllo Pie is just as delicious. It’s a perfectly kinda rustic, fancy, low maintenance meal that makes me HAPPY every time I eat it. This stuff is heavenly!
You should go make it. Like now! The Super Bowl can wait!! 😉
ENJOY!
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Chicken Florentine Phyllo Pie
Ingredients
- 1 cup part-skim Ricotta Cheese
- 2 garlic cloves , chopped
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup soft cheese (goat cheese, bleu cheese or feta cheese)
- 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- salt and fresh ground pepper , to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cups cubed (cooked) chicken breasts, (this is a great recipe for leftover chicken)
- 1 bag (6-ounces) spinach leaves
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, melted
- 16 phyllo sheets
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375.
- In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta, chopped garlic, eggs, cheese, zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper; with a mixer on low, mix until combined and set aside.
- Heat olive oil in a frying pan and add cubed chicken pieces; cook for 4 minutes or until heated through.
- Add spinach leaves and continue to cook until spinach is wilted; about 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and transfer 1/2-cup of chicken mixture to ricotta mixture; stir to combine.
- Add the remaining chicken mixture to the ricotta mixture and mix until thoroughly incorporated. Set aside.
- Brush a cast iron skillet with a little bit of the melted butter.
- Unfold phyllo sheets.
- Place a phyllo sheet on the bottom of the cast iron skillet.
- Brush with melted butter.
- Top with seven more sheets, brushing each sheet with melted butter before adding the next.
- As you work, keep the unused stack of phyllo sheets covered so they don't dry up.
- Spread the chicken-ricotta mixture over the phyllo sheets.
- Top with remaining 8 phyllo sheets, brushing each sheet with melted butter, including the top sheet.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until top is browned and flaky.
- Let stand 10 minutes.
- Cut and serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
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Looks delicious! What size cast iron pan did you use?
This was in my 12-inch, but even a 10-inch would be okay.
Is there a substitute that can be used for the butter? This looks fabulous. I must try this recipe.
Hi!
I have never used anything other than butter for phyllo sheets, but you can try it with olive oil.
I tried this today. It was great! Been a long time since i worked with phylo and sure could use some practice! I will try another of your recipes using phylo as well.
Thank you for sharing this!
We enjoyed this very much! The brightness from the lemon juice and goat cheese nicely balances the savoriness. We used a 13×9, making it easy to work with the 13×17 phyllo sheets we had. Baked 20 minutes at 400 as recommended. Thanks for posting!
We made this tonite, and it was amazing!! Turned out perfectly.