Cuisine: Morocco's Acclaimed Chicken Bastilla

Last Christmas, a graduate friend and fellow food lover told me his department was hosting its annual holiday pie contest. Certainly there would be an expected overload on traditional dessert pies and other sweet confections, but his culinary interests sparked grander intentions of a more "exotic" nature. Why not a savory pie? No sooner had he mentioned "bastilla" was I immediately transported back to my days in Morocco and Tunisia, reveling in the sweet and spicy,  pastry-filled concoction of saffron chicken and cinnamon almonds. Bastilla on my mind the entire week, I knew what had to happen that weekend. With good old Arabic classics on surround sound and Mama on the phone, I set out in my kitchen to make some Maghrebi magic.

While variations exist all throughout North Africa, the most renowned bastilla can be found in Morocco. Described in the West as a "spiced meat pie", a title that I feel greatly undermines the true nature of the dish, bastilla is generally recognized as a savory stuffed pastry consisting of three very distinct internal layers. Traditionally, the primary layer consists of shredded pigeon, braised to perfection in a broth of saffron, onion, and cilantro. These days, chicken is most commonly used, although a number of fusion chefs have begun to experiment with both red meats and fish. The spicy secondary layer is made from cooking eggs in the remaining broth until a form of "scramble" is created. The sweet final layer (and quite possibly the most divine) is a blanket of fried almonds, ground and mixed with cinnamon, sugar, and orange blossom water. All of these layers are traditionally wrapped in layers of warqa, a crepe-like dough, although paper-thin filo is more commonly found outside of Morocco. Each layer imparts a distinct and complex attribute that, when combined properly into the final product, possesses an almost synergistic explosion of flavor. 

As with all my recipes, I don't generally measure any of the spices or condiments (thanks, Mama). I'll attempt to describe amounts, but I feel that tastes differ and you may find yourself adding more or less of a certain ingredient as you see fit.

INGREDIENTS & METHOD:

Making the chicken layer:

3-4 large chicken thighs (dark meat is moister and more flavorful)
2 white onions, finely chopped
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
5 cloves of chopped garlic or 1.5 tablespoons garlic paste
2 cups of water
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon Ras el Hanout** 
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon tumeric powder
Large pinch of saffron threads
2 tablespoons olive oil

**A Moroccan spice blend, can be made ahead or special ordered. If you can't do either, substitute with 1 big teaspoon each of ground cumin and coriander.

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add the garlic/garlic paste, onions, cilantro, and all of the spices *except* saffron.
• Combine well and fry the mixture until onions are lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and cover the pot, cooking the onion mixture for a couple minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a sauce pan. Once boiling, remove from heat and add the pinch of saffron, allowing it to infuse into the hot water.
• Add the chicken thighs to the main pot, burying them under the onion mixture. Pour the 2 cups of saffron water into the pot to cover the chicken.
• Cover with a lid and allow the chicken to simmer until cooked, around 20 minutes.
• When cooked, remove the thighs from the onion broth and allow to cool, then shred the chicken into strips and set aside. Remove and discard any bones.
• Reserve the remaining onion broth for making the scramble layer.

Making the scramble layer:

6 eggs
Broth generated from cooking the chicken

• Add 6 eggs into the pot containing the remaining onion broth.
• Stir the mixture frequently to prevent any burning and simmer on medium-low heat until all liquid has been cooked off. 
• The finished product will become a spiced egg scramble. Set egg mixture aside.

Making the almond layer:

 2 cups of blanched, slivered almonds
0.5 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1.5 tablespoons orange blossom water
1 cup frying oil

• Heat oil on high in a frying pan. Add the blanched almonds and fry until light brown, careful not to burn them.
• Remove the fried almonds from the pan, strain from excess oil, and allow to dry before placing them in a food processor.
• Add the sugar, cinnamon, and orange blossom water to the food processor then grind until a crumbly blend is formed. It's fine if the blend is moist. Set almond mixture aside.

Assembling the bastilla:

Package of filo dough
Half a stick of butter, melted
1 egg yolk, beaten
Cooked products for all three layers
Powdered sugar and cinnamon for "dusting" the finished pie

• Roll out the package of filo dough. Handle with care, as each sheet is like tissue paper. When not actively working with it, keep it under a damp tea towel to prevent it from drying out.
• In a 12" round pie dish, lay out four overlapping filo sheets (each folded in half for extra strength) from the center of the dish in the shape of a cross, allowing the sheet to drape over the edge of the dish. 
• With melted butter, carefully brush an even coat over the filo sheets on the inside of the dish.
• Add the shredded chicken to the dish to form the first flat layer. Cover the chicken layer with two additional overlapping filo sheets, then brush the top with butter.
• Add the egg mixture and spread out evenly over the top to form the next layer up. Cover the egg layer with two additional overlapping filo sheets, then brush the top with butter.
• Repeat the same steps from the previous two layers for the final almond layer.
• When all layers have been added, take the excess filo draped over the edge of the dish and fold back over the top of the pie. Remember to brush with butter between sheets.
• Add 5 more sheets of filo over the top of the pie, brushing with butter between each sheet, and tucking the excess dough into the dish around the pie's circumference.
• Finally, brush the top of the pie with egg yolk and place in the oven at 350 F for around 25 minutes, or until top is golden brown.
• Dust the finished bastilla with a light layer of powered sugar and cinnamon.

Due to the multiple parts and confusing filo folding in this recipe, I decided to shoot an amateur video to better demonstrate the process. And you even get a sampler of some awesome North African music, both in Arabic and Amazigh!