Shirli's Smoked Chicken Parcels with Orange Sauce

Ingredients

• 1.3 cup smoked chicken or turkey, diced; 750ml
• 2.1.25 cup pie apples, 375ml; canned or stewed
• 3.butter or margarine, for sautéing
• 4.nutmeg, to taste
• 5.black pepper, to taste
• 6.1 packet phyllo pastry, keep covered with damp cloth; brush with oil or melted margarine
• 7.oil, for brushing phyllo; can substitute melted margarine or a mixture
• 8.spring onions, blanched into strips; optional, for tying bundles
• 9.1230 gram canned apricots, 3 x 410g tins (3 x 15 oz); for sauce
• 10.312 gram canned mandarins, 11 oz tin; for sauce
• 11.3 orange juice, freshly squeezed; for sauce
• 12.1 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, 250ml; undiluted; for sauce
• 13.1 stock cube, vegetable or chicken; for sauce
• 14.100 ml brandy, 4 oz; for sauce
• 15.maizena (cornstarch) or arrowroot, 1 tablespoon maizena OR 2 tablespoons arrowroot; for thickening sauce
• 16.sugar, to taste; for sauce

Method

1. 1.Gently sauté the apples in a little butter or margerine for a few minutes.
2. 2.Mix the diced smoked chicken with the apples. Season with the nutmeg and pepper.
3. 3.TO ASSEMBLE PARCELS: Using hands, smear 1 sheet of phyllo with oil. Top with a second sheet and repeat. Repeat twice more — 4 sheets in all. Cut sheets into quarters.
4. 4.Place a heaped tablespoon of filling at bottom end of each quarter. Fold in sides and roll up like a blintze. OR place filling in middle of each quarter and gather up ends to make a little bundle. Tie the bundle with a blanched spring onion strip.
5. 5.Brush each packet or bundle with oil and place on a greased baking tray.
6. 6.Bake at 200°C (400°F) for about 20 minutes or till golden brown.
7. 7.FOR THE SAUCE: Bring the apricots and their juice, the mandarins and their juice, the orange juice, the frozen orange juice, the cube, the brandy and a little sugar to the boil.
8. 8.Slake the maizena or arrowroot with a little water and add to the mixture. Simmer till thickened. Liquidize all.
9. 9.Taste and see if you prefer the sauce a little sweeter. Set aside and warm just before serving.
10. 10.TO SERVE: Mask each serving plate with a little sauce. Set one or two parcels on the plate. Trim with a few mandarin sections and perhaps a mint leaf.

Notes

• The parcels can be made early in the day and kept covered in the refrigerator until ready to bake.
• Arrowroot is preferable to maizena — it makes a clearer sauce.
• For the phyllo: butter is best, but a mixture of oil and melted margarine also works. Pure oil tends not to penetrate the phyllo and the pastry may bake dry.
• 'Maizena' is the South African brand name for cornstarch/cornflour.