Smoked Chicken Spanakopita Pot Pie

Smoked chicken is a great meal cheat for salads, pasta etc but here it’s used in a Spanakopita style pot pie.

Brought to you by our guest blogger Nadine who is an awesome home cook. We know this will be a winner!

BBQ SET UP

A kettle grill with a lid is ideal for this, as is an ovenproof pie dish or shallow casserole dish or skillet.

FUEL SET UP

This cook was done over two days to cut down on prep time for pie making day, plus it’s handy to sneak on the grill if you’re cooking something else.

For smoking the chicken breast, one basket of charcoal is all this needs as it’s cooked at a lower temperature as to not dry out the chicken.

The pie was cooked with a basket of Firerband lump spread either side of cooking zone, both of these cooks were indirect with some direct cooking for the spinach and roux.

Using Firebrand Professional Hardwood Lump and the ‘Fire IT Up’ charcoal starter was used to get it going.

THE RECIPE

This recipe is great for adjusting to your taste, the freshness of the dill and feta add a zing, but it’s ok to use less or more.

Smoked chicken

1 skinless chicken breast (or use two if they are small, you can always use the leftover in another dish)

Pot pie

2 small bags of baby spinach
5 tbspn unsalted butter
2 tbspn plain flour
½ cup of milk
½ cup of chicken stock
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
3 spring onions, white and light green parts chopped
1 bunch of dill
90 grams of Feta (approx. half a pack)
6-8 sheets of filo pastry

METHOD

Place the chicken breast indirect on the grill and cook to an internal temperature of about 74-76⁰c. If you want additional flavour lightly rub with a garlic rub and add some smoking wood. You can also brine it first if you wish.

Pot pie

Wilt the spinach over heat, drain well and set aside.

Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter and add garlic to cook until fragrant, about one minute, and add the flour to make a roux. Add the chicken stock and whisk until smooth, then whisk in milk.

Add the feta, spring onions and dill and stir until the feta melts. Remove from the heat and add chopped chicken and spinach. If it’s too thick you can add more stock and/or milk.

Melt the remaining butter in the mircrowave and brush a sheet of filo pastry, then scrunch the sheet and place on top of the pie mixture. Repeat until covered, or piled high if you love the crunch!

Place in the kettle with the lid on and cook until the pastry and golden and crisp. Remove and garnish with additional dill and sit back and enjoy!