chicken spanakopita skillet

(1 rating)
Recipe by
JM Avallone
earth, VA

I found this on serious eats, was not sure about it because I am not a huge fan of dill but so glad I took the chance. The top is crunchy and the dough in the sauce is like a dumpling it kind of soaks up the yummy cream mixture in a good way. This is posted as written on their site. I will post at the end some of the amounts I used as it was only for two people. I have read some avoided this because of feta & dill (dont), watch this after about 12 minutes I had to cover mine as you can see in this photo this is how brown it was after the 12.

(1 rating)
yield 6 serving(s)
prep time 30 Min
cook time 30 Min
method Bake

Ingredients For chicken spanakopita skillet

  • 1 lb
    baby spinach
  • 6 Tbsp
    butter, unsalted
  • 1 1/2 lb
    boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs
  • 5 md
    cloves garlic minced
  • 2 Tbsp
    all purpose flour
  • 1/2 c
    chicken stock low sodium
  • 1/2 c
    half and half
  • pinch
    salt and pepper
  • 6 oz
    feta cheese crumbled
  • 3
    scallions chopped
  • 1 bunch
    dill chopped
  • 8 sheet
    phyllo dough thawed & covered with a towel

How To Make chicken spanakopita skillet

  • 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
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