Jordanian inspired Chicken in Filo Dough

My initial inspiration for this recipe was a Moroccan filo pie, but it was extremely complicated and used tons of spices. So when I started to simplify this in my head, I remembered a dish I learned to make when I took a cooking class in Jordan. It was a delicious chicken seasoned with coriander, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg.

So I combined both culinary inspirations and came up with this dish, which is excellent! I am thrilled with the results. I didn’t need to tweak, it’s simply delicious.

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 very large red onion (or two mediums)

1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander

1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)

2 cups chopped rotisserie chicken

½ cup Pomegranate infused dried cranberries (or substitute raisins)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

½ cup chicken broth

1 roll of Filo dough

1/3 cup melted butter for brushing

Directions

Thaw filo dough according to package directions.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Slice onion and set aside. In a large pan, heat oil over medium heat, then add onion and spices and saute for 5 minutes. Add the chicken and cook 5 more minutes. Then add dried cranberries, tomato paste and broth. Cover dish and cook for 5 minutes. Taste and add more salt if needed. Remove lid and pop mixture in the refrigerator for 5 minutes to cool slightly.

Use a deep dish pie pan and layer several layers of filo dough on the bottom with the sides hanging over the pie pan. Brush with melted butter. Do this until you’ve used half the dough. Then fill the filo dough with chicken mixture. Place the rest of the filo dough, adding two sheets at a time and quickly brushing with butter, until you have added all the dough and tuck it all in the sides of the pie pan, like a little present.

Brush with remaining butter. Bake for 20- 25 minutes or until golden on top. Cool for 5 minutes before slicing.

This dish can be served as an appetizer or main course.

It pairs well with a Riesling or a beer.