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Chicken Spinach Polenta Layer Pie

Layered pie of chicken, spinach, polenta, mushrooms, olives, raisins, and cheese baked in a casserole.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 18 ingredients
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Why it works: Chicken and spinach are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,146 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-undecenal, which smells sweet. The science ↓

The recipe

Ovenabout 190 degrees Celsius
Time35-45 minutes

Ingredients

Contains: egg, milk, tree nuts (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Prepare the chicken and filling

  1. Preheat oven to about 190 degrees Celsius.

  2. Poach chicken breasts in water or stock, keep stock aside.

  3. Shred chicken.

  4. Sauté chopped onion.

  5. Add sliced mushrooms, cook till juices run.

  6. Add cornflour, cumin, oregano.

  7. On low heat gradually add about 300ml stock to make sauce.

  8. Bring to boil, add chicken, and cook for 5 minutes.

  9. Season with salt and pepper.

Make the spinach and polenta

  1. Squeeze spinach dry.

  2. Combine spinach, toasted chopped cashews and crushed garlic in a bowl.

  3. Boil 1 ½ litres of salted water or stock.

  4. Remove from heat and slowly add polenta while stirring with a wooden spoon.

  5. Place pot back on heat and cook till thick and creamy.

  6. Add grated cheese and chopped olives.

  7. Spread on greased tray 1cm thick and bake in oven for 15 min till brown.

  8. Cut to fit casserole dish enough for two layers.

Assemble and bake

  1. Place chicken mix in bottom of casserole dish.

  2. Place sliced hard boiled eggs and raisins on top.

  3. Add layer of grilled polenta.

  4. Then place spinach mix on top.

  5. Then add final layer of polenta.

  6. Bake in oven for 35-45 minutes.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

This recipe comes from the Recipes Wiki on Fandom and is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Our formatting and summaries are shared under the same licence.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Chicken + spinachtop 7% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together1,146 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).

  2. Chicken + mushroomtop 2% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together4,171 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-butyl acetate (fruity, banana).

  3. Cumin + spinachtop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together325 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  4. Marjoram + cumintop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together36 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  5. Chicken + oniontop 4% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapmoderate
    Mentioned together17,808 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chicken breasts
Provides the bulk and firm, shreddable texture of the savoury filling.
Portabello mushrooms
Release moisture and savoury depth as they cook down.
Cornflour
Thickens the stock into a smooth sauce that binds the chicken.
Instant polenta cornmeal
Cooks into a thick, creamy base that sets firm when spread and baked.
Frozen spinach
Adds body and earthy flavour to the middle layer once squeezed dry.
Tasty cheese
Melts into the polenta, adding richness and savoury flavour.

The step that matters

Adding the polenta to the boiling liquid. Adding polenta slowly off the heat while stirring prevents lumps, because the grains hydrate evenly before the pot returns to the heat to thicken.

Flavor stand-ins for the raisin

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, mushroom, onion, marjoram, cumin, olive, egg):

  1. Lemonbetter flavor fit
  2. Limebetter flavor fit
  3. Avocadobetter flavor fit
  4. Raisinthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, mushroom, onion, marjoram, cumin, olive, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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