Moroccan Chicken Pastilla (Bastilla) Recipe with Phyllo

Moroccan chicken pastilla (bastilla) is a round, crisp pie of paper-thin pastry filled with saffron-and-ginger chicken, soft eggs cooked in the reduced sauce, and a layer of fried almonds ground with sugar and cinnamon. It is finished with powdered sugar and cinnamon, so every bite is sweet, peppery and buttery at once. At home you can make it with phyllo instead of Moroccan warqa: budget about 45 minutes of hands-on work and just under 2 hours of cooking.

In Morocco it is a special-occasion dish, usually served as the first course of a festive meal, and it makes a striking centrepiece for a holiday table or an Eid or Ramadan gathering. It looks hard, but each stage is simple; the work is in the assembly.

At a glance

What pastilla is

Pastilla is a pie made with warqa, a very thin Moroccan pastry that is cooked sheet by sheet on a hot pan, then layered and buttered. The poultry version was traditionally made with young pigeon (squab); today shredded chicken is far more common. There is also a seafood pastilla with fish, shrimp and vermicelli, which is savoury and spicy rather than sweet and is often served at weddings.

Its history is debated. Historians have pointed to 13th-century Andalusi recipes with a filling very close to modern pastilla, while others connect the dish to Ottoman Algeria or Sephardic Jewish cooks. What everyone agrees on is the sweet-savoury balance: savoury spiced meat, then sugar and cinnamon on top.

Ingredients

Chicken filling

• 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks, skin removed
• 2 large onions (about 400 g / 14 oz), grated
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 30 g (1 cup loosely packed) flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 30 g (1 cup loosely packed) cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp ras el hanout (optional)
• A large pinch of saffron threads, crumbled
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1¼ tsp salt
• 45 g (3 tbsp) butter or smen
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) neutral oil or olive oil
• 250 ml (1 cup) water

Egg layer

• 6 large eggs, beaten

Almond layer

• 250 g (1⅔ cups) blanched almonds
• About 60 ml (¼ cup) oil, for frying
• 60 g (½ cup) powdered sugar
• 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp orange flower water (optional)
• 15 g (1 tbsp) butter, softened

Pastry and finish

• About 14 sheets phyllo (about 300 g / 10 oz), thawed, or 10 warqa or brick sheets
• 100 g (7 tbsp) butter, melted
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tbsp (15 g) powdered sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Substitutions for hard-to-find ingredients

Instructions

1. Cook the chicken

1. Put the chicken, onions, garlic, parsley, cilantro, all the spices, salt, butter and oil in a wide heavy pot. Stir to coat and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, turning the chicken, until the onions have softened.
2. Add the water, cover and simmer gently for 50–60 minutes, until the meat slips off the bone.
3. Lift out the chicken and the cinnamon stick. Once it's cool enough to touch, shred the chicken into small pieces and discard the bones.

2. Make the egg layer

4. Boil the sauce uncovered, stirring often, until it is reduced to about 250 ml (1 cup) and looks thick and oniony, 10–15 minutes.
5. Turn the heat to low, pour in the eggs and stir slowly until they set into soft, moist curds, 5–8 minutes. Tip into a sieve over a bowl and let it drain and cool. This is the most important step: any loose liquid will make the bottom of the pie soggy.

3. Make the almond layer

6. Fry the almonds in the oil over medium heat, stirring all the time, until evenly golden, 4–6 minutes. Drain on paper and let them cool completely.
7. Pulse them in a food processor with the powdered sugar and cinnamon until coarsely ground, like rough sand with some small pieces. Stir in the orange flower water and softened butter.

4. Assemble

8. Heat the oven to 190 °C (375 °F). Brush the skillet or pie dish with melted butter.
9. Lay about 8 phyllo sheets in the pan, brushing each with butter and overlapping them like the spokes of a wheel so they cover the base and hang well over the rim.
10. Spread the chicken evenly over the base, then the drained egg mixture.
11. Cover with 2 buttered phyllo sheets folded to fit, then spread the almond mixture over them.
12. Fold the overhanging pastry up over the filling, buttering as you go. Cover with the remaining 4 buttered sheets and tuck their edges down the sides of the pan to make a neat round. Brush the top with the egg yolk.

5. Bake and finish

13. Bake for 30–40 minutes, until deep golden and crisp all over. If the edges brown much faster than the centre, lay a loose sheet of foil on top.
14. Rest for 10 minutes, then slide onto a serving plate. Dust thickly with powdered sugar and draw criss-cross lines of cinnamon over it. Serve warm, cut into wedges.

Tips from my kitchen

• Cook the filling the day before. Cold filling is much easier to spread, and the pastry stays crisper because nothing steams it from inside.
• Taste the eggs for salt. The reduced sauce carries all the seasoning; it should taste a little strong on its own because the pastry and almonds will soften it.
• Thighs, not breast. Thighs and drumsticks stay juicy through the long simmer; breast turns dry and stringy.
• Phyllo in Japan. Look for frozen filo (フィロ生地) at import grocers or online shops. Thaw it in the fridge overnight, never in the microwave.
• Work fast and keep it covered. Keep the phyllo stack under plastic wrap and a damp towel and take one sheet at a time.
• Smaller pies. For individual pastillas, use 15 cm (6 in) rounds of brick or spring roll wrappers and bake for 15–20 minutes.

Mistakes to avoid

Make ahead, freezing and reheating

The chicken and egg filling keeps 2 days in the fridge, and the almond mixture keeps a week in a sealed jar. You can also assemble the pie, cover it well and refrigerate it unbaked for up to 24 hours, then bake as normal, allowing a few extra minutes.

To freeze, wrap the assembled, unbaked pie tightly and freeze for up to 2 months. Bake from frozen at 180 °C (350 °F) for 50–60 minutes, until golden and hot in the centre, covering with foil if the top colours too quickly. Reheat leftovers in the oven at 170 °C (340 °F) for 15 minutes; the microwave makes the pastry soft.

How to serve it

Pastilla opens the meal. For a festive Moroccan menu, follow it with a slow-cooked main such as lamb tagine with prunes and almonds, then fruit and a pot of Moroccan mint tea. As a main course on its own, serve it with a simple green or tomato salad to cut the richness.