Morocco · Morocco

Pastilla (Moroccan Chicken Phyllo Pie)

Name: Pastilla (Moroccan Chicken Phyllo Pie)
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 85 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Morocco
Ingredients: chicken thighs, cooked and shredded 600 g; phyllo dough sheets 400 g; blanched almonds, ground 150 g; yellow onion, chopped 150 g; large eggs, beaten 3 pieces; chicken stock 300 ml; ground cinnamon 6 g; sugar 30 g; butter, melted 100 g; olive oil 30 ml; flat-leaf parsley, chopped 15 g; fine salt 4 g; black pepper 2 g

Sweet-savory chicken pie layered in phyllo with almond-cinnamon filling, dusted with sugar.

85 minutes · 6 servings · advanced

Pastilla is the showpiece of Moroccan festive cooking, and its strangeness is deliberate: a sweet pastry filled with a savoury meat stew, sugar and cinnamon on top. Every stage is built in layers, from the almonds at the base to the phyllo above, and the pastry must be built well ahead so it can settle. It is traditionally carried in a procession on a horse at weddings, which is how its name is remembered.

Ingredients

chicken thighs, cooked and shredded600 g
phyllo dough sheets400 g
blanched almonds, ground150 g
yellow onion, chopped150 g
large eggs, beaten3 pieces
chicken stock300 ml
ground cinnamon6 g
sugar30 g
butter, melted100 g
olive oil30 ml
flat-leaf parsley, chopped15 g
fine salt4 g
black pepper2 g

Directions

1
Sauté onion in oil 8 minutes; add chicken, stock, parsley, salt and pepper; simmer 12 minutes.
onions are soft
2
Toast ground almonds 4 minutes; stir in cinnamon, sugar and 1 egg; cook 3 minutes.
3
Brush phyllo with butter; layer 6 sheets in a pan; spread chicken then almond filling; top with 6 more phyllo brushed with butter.
4
Score into diamonds; bake at 180°C for 25 minutes until crisp and golden.
top is deep golden and crisp
5
Rest 5 minutes; dust with cinnamon and sugar.

Source: WorldBite Editorial · WorldBite Proprietary Editorial Content