This recipe comes from Judy Ridgway - you can visit her website by clicking here.

Judy Ridgway has been tasting, talking and writing about olive for twelve years or more since she co-authored The Pocket Guide to Oils Vinegars and Seasonings. This was followed up by a paper on Taste and Flavour in Olive Oil written for the European Commission in 1992 (about to be re-issued in updated form) and then The Olive Oil Companion which is still just about in print.

Before working with co-author Mark Lake on the first book Judy says that she hardly used olive oil and now she hardly uses anything else. "Mark was a real lover of olive oil and he opened my eyes to the fact that olive oil is not just olive all. They all taste quite different", says Judy.

The taste and flavour aspect of foods fascinates Judy and she tastes olive oils at every opportunity. As a result she was invited to sit on the judging panel for the prestigious Leone d'Oro awards for olive oil in Italy for five years from 1996 to 2000.

As well as tasting oil, Judy regularly travels to the producing countries and recently visited the southern hemispere to look at olive oil there. Her work includes tutored seminars, tasting classes and broadcasting.

She has written more than 50 books on food and wine and her book The Wine Tasting Class was nominated for the Julia Child awards in America.

Both British and Irish cuisines are littered with pies of various kinds. Here the traditional short crust pastry is replaced with filo pastry brushed with olive oil.

Serve with a tossed salad or stir-fry vegetables and new potatoes.

Ingredients

4 chicken breast fillets, skinned and boned
4 medium sized trimmed leeks (approx: 300g), sliced
200ml milk
salt and freshly ground black pepper
pinch nutmeg
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 level tablespoons plain flour
1 egg, beaten
6 sheets of filo pastry

• Set the oven to 200ºC / 400ºF / Gas 6 and brush a shallow 26cm x 16cm x 3 1/2cm baking or flapjack tin with a little of the oil.

• Place the chicken fillets in a saucepan with the leeks, milk, seasoning and nutmeg. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and cover with a lid. Simmer for 15 - 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

• Drain the liquid into a jug, squeezing out as much liquid from the leeks as possible. Cut the chicken into chunks and keep on one side with the leeks.

• Heat one tablespoon of the olive oil in a small saucepan and stir in the flour. Cook over a medium heat for a minute or so and then add the liquid from the chicken. Stir until the mixture thickens and boil for two minutes, stirring all the time. Remove from the heat and stir in the beaten egg.

• Cut the first sheet of filo pastry to fit the tin and brush with olive oil. Arrange in the tin so that it lines the base and the sides. Brush two more sheets with olive oil and place on top.

• Fill the pastry base with the chicken and leeks and pour the sauce over the top. Brush three more full size sheets with olive oil and fold over. Place each one on top of the pie. Brush the top layer with more olive oil.

• Cut into four quarters with a sharp knife and place in the pre-heated oven. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until crisp and golden.

Serves 4

Judy Ridgway

Visit Judy's web site - click here