Chicken, spinach and feta wreath pie

This chicken pie filling is packed with herb flavours that surprise with every bite.

Serves 8 • Preparation: 30 minutes • Cooking time: 30 minutes • Oven temperature: 180°C

• 300g fresh spinach, leaves and veins separated

• 60ml butter

• 30ml olive oil

• 4 large spring onions, white parts chopped

• 60ml cake flour

• 300ml milk

• 6 cooked chicken breasts, shredded • 80ml fresh mint and dill, chopped • freshly grated nutmeg

• 300g feta, crumbled

• 1 egg, beaten

• 8 sheets phyllo pastry, thawed • about 125ml melted butter • 125g thinly sliced ham

1 Blanch the spinach leaves by immersing them in boiling water; refresh immediately in cold water, squeeze dry and chop finely. Set aside. Chop the spinach veins. Melt the butter and olive oil together and fry the spinach veins and spring onions together until soft and glossy. Stir in the cake flour and fry for a minute. Gradually beat in the milk and stir to form a thick sauce. Stir in the chicken, spinach leaves and herbs, season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg and leave to cool slightly before you also mix in the feta and egg. Set aside.

2 Brush a 2L ring pan with melted butter. Brush four sheets of phyllo pastry with butter and stack them on top of each other; repeat with four more sheets so you have two stacks of four greased sheets each.

Line the prepared pan with the pastry so that the extra pastry hangs over the edge.

3 Preheat the oven. Arrange a layer of ham on top of the pastry in the ring pan and spoon the chicken filling on top.

4 Fold the overhanging pastry over the filling and brush it again with butter. Bake the pie for 30 minutes. Let the cooked pie stand for 10 minutes, then carefully turn it out onto a serving platter. The ring pan ensures that the bottom, which is now on top, is also baked to a beautiful golden-brown. Garnish with a sprinkling of fresh herbs and serve in thick slices. >>