Chicken Shwarma Pie

From the book Falastin; Sami Tamimi / Tara Wrigley

Ingredients
Chicken / Marinade
750g boneless chicken thighs, skinned
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
¾ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp ground turmeric
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp cider vinegar
Salt and pepper

Rest of the Pie
2 baking potatoes, unpeeled cut into thick discs
45g unsalted butter
1 onion, thinly sliced
200ml chicken stock
10g mixture of chopped fresh parsley and coriander
8 sheets filo pastry
1 tsp nigella seeds
1/3 tsp chilli flakes
Salt and black pepper

Tahini Sauce
50g Tahini
80g Greek style yoghurt (can also use creme fraiche)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp lemon juice

Method
Place the chicken in the marinade ingredients and leave for at least half an hour or up to overnight in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 180C fan (a little hotter if not a fan oven)

Mix the sliced potatoes with 1 ½ tbsp oil and a good sprinkling of salt and pepper. Place them on a lined baking tray, spread out so they do not overlap. Bake for 20 minutes, increase the oven temperature to 220C fan and remove the tray from the oven. Carefully flip the potato slices and return them to the hot oven for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Turn the oven back down to 180C

Heat 15g butter and 1 ½ tbsp of oil in a large sauté pan over a medium high heat. Once hot add the onion and cook for around 6 minutes until softened. Add the chicken and cook for another 10 minutes until it is lightly browned. Then add the stock and a little more salt and pepper. Bring the pan to the boil and lower the heat to medium, simmer gently for 25 minutes or until the chicken is just cooked. Raise the temperature again and cook for another 8 minutes or so until the liquid has thickened and reduced to around 4 tbsp. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes, then shred the chicken into large chunks using two forks. Stir in the herbs and set aside.

Combine the ingredients for the tahini sauce and whisk until smooth, set aside.

Melt the remaining butter and combine with the oil. Use some of this mixture to grease the sides of a 23cm springform cake tin, line the base of the tin with baking parchment. Brush a sheet of filo with the butter / oil mixture and then place it in the tin, so it covers the base and rises up the sides. Repeat with 5 more sheets of filo, placing each at a slightly different angle to ensure you cover all of the inside of the tin with the excess hanging out at various angles around the top.

Add the potato slices, overlap them slightly to make sure the base of the tin is evenly covered, Then add in the chicken mixture, making an even layer and then add the tahini sauce on top.

Brush another piece of filo with the butter mixture, fold in half and lay across the top of the pie, tucking it in around the filling. Repeat with another sheet to cover the gaps. Fold over the overhanging pastry to make crinkly effect on the top of the pie. Brush with eh remaining butter, sprinkle with nigella seeds, place on a baking tray and cook for 60 minutes until completely golden.

Leave to cool for around 15 minutes before removing form the tin, sprinkle with chilli flakes and serve.