bstila – moroccan chicken/nut pie
brown 1/2 lb blanched almonds in a little oil until golden. chop
coarsely or pound with a mortar and pestle. add 1/2 tsp cinnamon
and (optionally) honey or sugar to sweeten to taste (anc adds none
but cites recipes calling for up to 1/2c sugar–i favor a little
honey as the contrast of the sweetness with the savory chicken is
part of the exotic appeal of the dish). set aside.
heat 1 tbsp clarified butter and 1/3 cup butter in a large heavy
pot. add 1 minced medium onion and saute for a few minutes. add
chicken meat equivalent to about 1/2 chicken (e.g. two boneless
breasts), cut in small pieces (as for a pot pie), along with:
1/2 tsp pepper
1 pinch saffron (or, per ongoing thread, 1/2 tsp turmeric)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup minced parsley
1/4 cup minced coriander (cilantro, chinese parsley)
salt to taste
simmer until the chicken is done. beat 2 eggs and slowly stir them
into the sauce. remove from heat.
have ready phillo sheets, melted butter (at least 1/4 lb), and a pastry
brush. select a shallow baking pan about 8″ in diameter, such as an iron
skillet. what you basically want to do is construct a pie by layering
the phillo sheets in the pan and then folding them over the contents; it
will probably be easiest if you cut the sheets in half or smaller, for
instance into long rectangles about the width of the pan and twice as long.
brush one of the sheets with melted butter, and put it, butter side up,
in the bottom of the pan, the excess dangling over the side. add another
sheet, at an angle to the first, and repeat so that you have phillo
covering the bottom of the pan and dangling out all around (this is hard
to describe). use about 5 sheets to form this layer. repeat the process,
forming another layer. now pour the chicken and sauce into the pan. put
several more buttered sheets on top of the chicken, this time not
overlapping the edge–use smaller pieces or fold them in half. spread
the nut mixture on top of this. put another layer or so of phillo, then
fold the dangling ends over the top so as to close the envelope. (your
mileage may vary on the number and details of layering the sheets). brush
the top with butter. at this point the bstila can be refrigerated if
desired (this is time-consuming and you may wish to do all this the day
before serving).
just before serving, put the pan in a 350-degree oven for 15-20 minutes
until the top is golden: flip it onto an oven-proof plate (or use an
ordinary plate to flip it over back into the skillet) and return to brown
the other side, 30-40 minutes total. place on a serving platter, sprinkle
with powdered sugar, then make fanciful decorative designs with ground
cinnamon. (when i had this in a restaurant it said something like “eat
me”).