The first time I made this recipe was in University, when I was having some new friends over for dinner. I can't remember for the life of me why I decided on this particular dish, but when at dinner the girls were asking where I bought the chicken bundles from, I knew I had found a new favourite. Since that day back in 2001 I have made this numerous times for many different people. I've privately dubbed it my best 'dish to impress'. That is, if I'm cooking for people for the first time, I know this dish will is a crowd pleaser. So when I was visiting my sister in Toronto and she told me we were having some of her friends for dinner, who were looking forward to having me cook for them (I think she may have talked me up a bit) I thought, why not pull out ole faithful. It was a hit!
Chicken in Phyllo
- 8 Phyllo Pastry Sheets, thawed overnight in refrigerator
- 1/4 cup (or more) butter, melted
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved
- 1 bunch of fresh spinach leaves, stems removed
- 1 bunch fresh basil leaves, chopped
- 1 large red pepper, cut in strips
- 3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
One of the biggest things with making this dish, is the prep. After years of prepping this, my best advice is to have everything ready in an assembly line type operation. Phyllo is not difficult to work with, as long as you take care of it. What I mean by that is to cover the phyllo you are not using with a damp cloth. This helps it to not dry out and crack, making your life much easier. Once you have each of the items prepped and set out, it's time to get started.
Lay one sheet of phyllo on counter and fold in half. Brush melted butter along edges. Place chicken breast half in the middle, near the bottom of phyllo. Layer spinach, a sprinkling of basil, red pepper strips and some feta cheese. Roll chicken and phyllo over once. Fold edges toward the middle and continue rolling until you've formed a nice little bundle.
Place on cookie sheet, brush with butter. Now the next key is to cover this with another damp cloth, covering each bundle as you work. Once this is completed, you can either cook right away, or wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Bake in middle rack of 375 F oven for 25-30 minutes.
This dish is from The Best of Bridge, one of the best cookbooks you should have. It is great served with the Chickpea Couscous.
3 comments:
I have a best of bridge cookbook, but I feel like all its recipes have cream of mushroom soup in them - this looks like a tasty find!
Hey Alison, there are some great recipes in the best of bridge series. If you are looking for a good cream of mushroom soup to use though, Amy's Kitchen makes a really good organic, no msg one, and is available at a lot of markets and grocery stores.
Loving the new camera - the pics are super crisp. :) Sitting here with Bethy after making some oven roasted chicken for dinner. It was yummo. May try this later in the week for a quick dinner. Looks like fun.
Also congrats! ;)
Post a Comment