Chicken Spanakopita Skillet

Ingredients · for 6 (scales to your household)

• 1 lb Baby spinach $12.75
• 6 Tbsp Butter, unsalted $1.21
• 1 1/2 lb Boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs $10.21
• 5 Garlic, minced $0.15
• 2 Tbsp All-purpose flour $0.03
• 1/2 cup Chicken stock, low sodium $0.26
• 1/2 cup Half and half $0.62
• 1/2 tsp Salt $0.03
• 1/4 tsp Black pepper $0.03
• 6 oz Feta cheese, crumbled $5.77
• 3 Scallions, chopped $0.85
• 1 Dill, chopped $0.02
• 8 Phyllo dough, thawed $1.60

Per-ingredient cost is the amount this recipe uses at the lowest Canadian price we have on file; the per-serving total above adds the range up to the dearest price and for buying whole packages. A line marked not counted is one we couldn't measure from the amount as written — it is missing from the total, not free.

Method

1. Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add spinach, a handful at a time, until the pan is full; you may have to cook the spinach in batches to ensure that it cooks evenly. Turn the spinach often until just wilted, then transfer to a colander and press out as much water as you can. Continue until all of the spinach is wilted and pressed.
2. Pour off any excess water in the skillet and place back over medium heat. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in the pan and add chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, turning once, until the edges are lightly golden, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 425°F. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in same skillet and add garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute, then mix in flour. Stir together until the mixture forms a golden paste. Whisk in 1/2 cup chicken stock. Cook, stirring often, until mixture is thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Whisk in half-and-half.
4. Add feta cheese, scallions, and dill and stir, allowing the feta to melt. Remove from heat. Return chicken and spinach to skillet, mixing well. If the sauce has thickened too much, add more chicken stock to reach the desired consistency, keeping in mind that the mixture will thicken even more when baking in the oven. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan or in the microwave. Lay a sheet of phyllo on a work surface. Brush with melted butter, then scrunch up the sheet and set it on top of the spinach mixture in the skillet. Repeat with remaining phyllo until the skillet is completely covered.
6. Bake until phyllo is golden and crisp on top, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven, garnish with additional dill, and serve warm.
7. this is how I made this dish for 2 might have fed 3, I lb spinach cooked early in the day, 2 cloves of garlic I grate my garlic so it melts in could have used more. 4 chicken thighs cooked well in advance, I used about half the butter called for throughout the dish. about 5 sprigs of dill, as for the rest of the ingredients I used what is written. I did use my homemade chicken stock. I took the skin off the thighs and cooked them in the pan longer just so it would only take the 20 minutes needed for the phyllo dough to cook. I did pull it off the bone before adding it back in the pan. next time I will add some mushrooms, or onions perhaps peas I see no reason not to.
8. I found in my oven the phyllo was as brown as it could be with 8 minutes left to cook, I guess I could have removed it at this time but wanted to make sure the chicken was fully cooked so I just put a piece of foil over the pan so just make sure you watch the browning after about 12 minutes
9. tomorrow I am going to make this but changing it up a lot by adding leeks, parsnips, mushrooms and I think I will sprinkle the sheets with onion and garlic powder maybe some of the dill, parsley maybe even sprinkle some of the feta cheese on it so it will end up being a herby cheesy crunchy yummy top. gosh I am hungry now I will let you know how it comes out