Mediterranean Chicken Pie

You just can't beat a good pie. Whatever form it takes, there's just something so comforting and delicious about a saucy filling and pastry/potato top!

This version speeds up the process significantly by pre-cooking the filling and baking the pastry separately. It's also much lighter with chicken breasts, filo pastry and only minimal oil and butter. The filling itself combines chicken with Mediterranean veg, oregano, olives and feta for something a little different with bags of flavour!

Mediterranean Chicken Pie

Serves 4

oil

2 large chicken breasts

2 courgettes, roughly chopped

2 peppers, roughly chopped

2 red onions, cut into wedges

2 tsp dried oregano

40g unsalted butter, melted

40g plain flour

200ml almond milk (or semi-skimmed)

300ml chicken stock

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

8 sheets filo pastry

sweet smoked paprika

150g pack of mixed olives and feta

1 lemon, juice only

Preheat the oven to 200C. Put the courgettes, peppers, onions and oregano in a baking tray with a drizzle of oil. Toss to coat, season with salt and pepper and then roast for 10 minutes. Place the chicken on top of the veg, drizzle with a little oil and season with salt and pepper then roast for a further 20 minutes, turning the chicken halfway through. Set aside.

Whisk together the butter, flour, milk and stock in a saucepan. Put the pan over a medium heat and cook for 10 minutes, whisking every minute or so to form a thick, smooth béchamel sauce. Add the mustard and season to taste.

Meanwhile, scrunch up the filo sheets and put on a baking tray. Drizzle all over with a little oil and sprinkle each with a pinch of paprika. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until golden and crisp.

Once the béchamel sauce has thickened, stir in the chicken, vegetables and the olive and feta mix. Season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice, then cook until just boiling and the chicken is piping hot.

Serve a generous spoonful of pie filling per person, topped with a piece of crisp filo.

TIP: You can make this recipe even easier by using pre-cooked chicken and chargrilled vegetables from a jar. Alternatively, you can prepare up to the end of step one up to two days in advance.