Hylopites Recipe (Peloponnese Egg Pasta with Chicken)

Hylopites are small, roughly square pieces of egg pasta, traditionally rolled and cut by hand at home and dried on sheets in the sun before being stored for months, a household pantry staple in the Peloponnese and across much of rural Greece before dried pasta was commonly bought rather than made. Store-bought hylopites, dried and packaged, are now the practical everyday version most households use.

The classic way to cook them is simmered directly in a chicken and tomato broth rather than boiled separately in water, which lets the pasta absorb the sauce as it softens and releases its own starch back into the pot, thickening everything into something closer to a rustic, homely risotto than a plain pasta dish.

It is real comfort food, built from pantry staples and a single chicken, and it rewards being made a day ahead since the flavours settle and deepen overnight.

Key preparation steps

1. Brown chicken pieces well before building the sauce.
2. Cook a simple tomato sauce around the chicken until it is tender.
3. Add the hylopites directly to the pot and simmer until soft.
4. Finish with grated cheese and serve straight from the pot.

Making hylopites from scratch, or buying them

Traditional hylopites are made from a simple dough of flour, egg and a little milk, rolled thin and cut into small squares, then dried fully before storing, a process that takes real time and space. Dried hylopites are also widely sold in Greek grocers, and using shop-bought pasta is entirely standard practice for a home cook today rather than any kind of shortcut to apologise for.

If substituting, a small square or shell-shaped pasta, such as a small farfalle cut down or a similar short pasta, gives a reasonably similar effect, though genuine hylopites have a slightly rougher, more absorbent texture from being egg-based and home-dried.

Building the chicken and tomato base

Brown bone-in chicken pieces well in a wide pot before anything else goes in, which builds real flavour into what becomes the braising liquid. Cook onion and garlic in the same pot, then add tinned tomatoes and enough water to cover the chicken, and simmer gently until the chicken is completely tender, forty-five minutes to an hour depending on the cut.

Adding the pasta

Once the chicken is tender, add the dried hylopites directly to the simmering sauce rather than cooking them separately, and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until they have softened and the sauce has thickened around them, usually ten to fifteen minutes depending on the pasta's thickness. Add a splash of hot water if the pot looks like it is drying out before the pasta is properly tender.

Serve straight from the pot with a generous grating of hard cheese, kefalotyri or a similar sharp grating cheese, over the top.

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