Metsovo Kotopita (Κοτόπιτα Μετσόβου)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •large heavy pot, 5 litres
• •wide saute pan, 28cm
• •round metal tapsi, 34cm, or rectangular baking dish, 23 by 33cm
• •pastry brush

Instructions

1. 1

   Poach the chicken

   Put the chicken in a large pot with the water, halved onion, carrot, celery, bay leaves, peppercorns, and salt. Bring slowly to a simmer, skim the foam, then cook gently for 55 to 70 minutes, until the meat pulls easily from the bone. Lift the chicken out and strain the broth. Keep 300ml for the filling and save the rest for another pot.

2. 2

   Pull the meat

   When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and bones. Pull the meat into small pieces with your fingers, not cubes. Kotopita wants strands of chicken through the rice and onion, so every bite belongs to the same pie.

3. 3

   Cook the filling

   Warm 80ml olive oil in a wide pan and cook the chopped onions and leeks over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, until soft and sweet but not browned. Stir in the rice for a minute, then add the pulled chicken, 300ml hot broth, cinnamon, and black pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the rice has taken up the broth and the pan looks moist but not wet, about 10 minutes. This is the step that decides the pie: a loose filling soaks the bottom phyllo, while a cooked-dry filling gives you a clean, crisp base.

4. 4

   Finish the filling

   Take the pan off the heat and let the filling cool for 15 minutes. Taste for salt, then stir in the beaten eggs and parsley. The eggs bind the filling, but they shouldn't hit a boiling pan, or they set in little threads instead of holding the pie together.

5. 5

   Layer the phyllo

   Heat the oven to 180C. Oil a 34cm round metal tapsi or a 23 by 33cm baking dish. Lay in 6 sheets of phyllo, brushing each sheet with olive oil and letting the edges hang over the pan. Keep the unused phyllo covered with a barely damp towel so it stays supple.

6. 6

   Fill the pie

   Spread the cooled chicken filling evenly over the phyllo. Fold the overhanging edges inward, then cover with 5 to 6 more oiled sheets, tucking the edges down around the inside of the pan. Brush the top well with oil and scatter with sesame seeds if using.

7. 7

   Score and bake

   Score the top into serving pieces with a sharp knife, cutting through the upper phyllo but not dragging through the filling. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until the top is deep gold and the edges pull slightly from the pan. Let it stand at least 20 minutes before cutting, because a pie cut too hot falls apart on the plate.

Chef Tips

• •Use bone-in chicken. Breast alone gives you a polite pie with no depth. Thighs, wings, and bones give the broth the body that makes the filling taste like chicken, not just meat in pastry.
• •If your phyllo tears, don't perform a funeral. Patch it, oil it, keep going. The top needs good sheets, the inside only needs layers.
• •Kotopita is best warm, not hot from the oven. Serve it with strained yogurt or a bitter green salad, and leave the knife alone for twenty minutes after baking.

Advance Preparation

• •Poach and pull the chicken up to 1 day ahead; chill the meat and broth separately.
• •Make the filling up to 1 day ahead and refrigerate it covered. Bring it close to room temperature before assembling so the phyllo bakes evenly.
• •The baked pie holds well for 1 day. Reheat uncovered at 170C until the phyllo crisps again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 285g)