Here's a start. This is just unbelievably outstanding. (if you like cinnamon with meat)
Rec: B'stilla
(the name changes as you ooze around the Mediterranian. Bastilla, Pastilla
This is a time-consuming recipe, but absolutely worth the time. It is just delicious and so unique. Each time I made it, the flavours were consistently outstanding.
My notes indicate that I skinned the chicken before I cooked it. I am guessing that was because of the fat that was imparted to the ‘sauce’. I haven’t made it for about a year and now am anxious to do so again.
The word “pastilla” is, I guess, the Egyptian reference to this type of pie, but the names are very similar around the southern Mediterranean.
Middle Eastern Cooking - Suzy Benghiat
Pastilla
2 T. oil
1 ½ lb. onions
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper
6-8 strands saffron (or 1 t. turmeric)
1 ½ t. ground ginger
4 t. ground cinnamon
1 medium chicken, about 3 lb.
1 1/4 c. very finely chopped parsley
1 2/3 c. peeled almonds
2-3 T. sugar
1 T. ground cinnamon
juice of ½ lemon
7-8 large eggs
2 T. (1/4 stick) butter
1 lb. package filo
1 egg beaten
To Serve:
3-4 t. confectioner’s sugar
3-4 t. ground cinnamon
1. Choose a casserole to hold the chicken and onions, no more than ½ full. Pour in oil too 1" depth and set over medium heat. Grate onion and add, stirring from time to time. Thinly slice garlic and add with the salt pepper, saffron, ginger and 1 t. cinnamon. Cut up chicken and add...(my note: no skin). Raise the heat a bit and cook for about 1 hour, turning the pieces occasionally.
2. Add the parsley. Cook for another 30 minutes or until meat falls easily from the bone.
3. Dry roast the almonds, grind them roughly and mix with sugar and the rest of the cinnamon. Set aside.
4. When chicken is cooked, remove with slotted spoon and set aside to cool. Strain the contents fo the pan through a double layer of cheesecloth into a bowl. Reserve the liquid and return the parsley and onions to the pan. Add the lemon juice, and 6 or 7 eggs. Stir gently until they being to set. The whole mixture should have the texture of a puree. Set aside while you skin (if you did not before) and bone the chicken and cut into bite-sized pieces.
5. (My note: allow 45 minutes from this point) Melt butter and use some to grease your largest roasting pan. Put a piece of filo pastry lengthwise in the center, moisten lightly all over with fingers dipped in reserved chicken stock, and set a second sheet of filo the same size on top. Moisten each sheet. Arrange more sheets radiating outwards like petals of a flower, with the inner end of each resting on the first 2 sheets and the outer end hanging over the edge of the pan. Overlap sheets until they are about 4 layers thick in all.
6. Pile the chicken pieces onto the filo in a tidy rectangle the same size as the first 2 sheets. Spread the parsley mixture on top. Cover with one sheet of filo. One by one, lift up the outer ends of the top layer of the overlapping filo sheets, fold each one over the rectangle and stick each one lightly in place by moistening with your fingers dipped into the beaten egg. Take car to keep the rectangle compact.
7. Add most of the rest of the melted butter to the almond mixture and check the balance of flavours: the almond, cinnamon and sugar should be distinct, without overwhelming each other. Correct the proportions if necessary. Spread this mixture on top of the now nearly completed pi and smooth it gently with your fingers. Place 2 more layers of filo on top, lengthwise, exactly like the first 2. Fold over and stick down the remaining outer sheets. Check that the filling is evenly crosswise over it and tuck underneath.
8. Preheat oven to 350.
9. Brush the pastilla with the remaining melted butter and bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. Let it cool a little, then decorate with alternating trails of confectioner’s sugar and cinnamon.
There are actually diagrams and separate instructions with the assembly, but I suspect that this will be sufficiently clear.
