Moroccan Chicken Bastilla
Moroccan Chicken Bastilla is a chicken pie famously originating. The Moroccan bastilla really is an incredible creation. It contains a light pastry shell (called the warqa). The filling consists of saffron chicken and a spicy stuffing. And on top of all this is sweet toasted almonds, along with cinnamon and powdered sugar. We will take you step by step through the recipe, just know that this does involve a fair amount of time.
The ingredients you'll need for the chicken itself are:
- a five pound chicken
- chopped sweet onions (2 large)
- unsalted butter (quarter cup)
- olive oil (quarter cup)
- cinnamon sticks (3)
- ground ginger (1 tablespoon)
- crumbled saffron threads (1 teaspoon)
- turmeric (1 teaspoon)
- ground white pepper (1.5 teaspoons)
- ground black pepper (1 teaspoon)
- salt (2 teaspoons)
The ingredients you'll need for the stuffing are:
- large eggs (8, beaten)
- chopped fresh cilantro (quarter cup)
Ingredients for the dough:
- melted unsalted butter (half cup)
- phyllo dough (1 pound), or ideally warqa, if you can find it
- large beaten egg yolk (1)
- vegetable oil
Ingredients for the almond topping:
- whole almonds, blanched (2 cups)
- softened unsalted butter (1 tablespoon)
- confectioners sugar (half cup)
- vegetable oil (quarter cup)
- orange flower water (2 tablespoons)
Ingredients you'll want to have for the garnish:
- ground cinnamon (3 tablespoons)
- confectioners' sugar (half cup)
Let's start with the chicken. You'll want to slice the chicken into pieces and throw away the chicken skin. Use a heavy pot and add the oil and butter from the chicken section of the ingredients. Put over medium heat and let the butter melt. Add the onion and cook for around 2 minutes so that the onion gets translucent.
Now add all the spices and stir for around half a minute as it continues cooking. Next you want to add the pieces of chicken. Stir and let the chicken become coated. Cover the pot and set the stovetop to medium heat. Cook for around an hour, until the chicken is fully cooked and tender. Make sure you stir the chicken and sauce periodically so that it doesn't burn.
At this point, take the chicken out and onto a plate. Keep cooking the sauce until its reduced. You'll need to keep stirring periodically to keep from burning. Remove and get rid of the cinnamon sticks. As you're reducing the sauce, remove the chicken from the bone and cut into pieces.
Take a large skillet and add the reduced sauce/onion mixture, along with the cilantro. Heat to a simmer and simmer for about a minute. Now add the beaten eggs. You'll cook it like cooking scrambled eggs, but it will take longer with the sauce involved, around 10 minutes. This is now ready to go.
Take a clean skillet and add the vegetable oil for the almond topping. You want to heat it just until it starts to shimmer. Now fry the almonds as you stir continuously. When they are golden brown, move them to a paper towel-covered plate or tray and fry the next batch of almonds. Let the almonds completely cool and grind in a food processor until finely ground. Add the ground almonds to a bowl and add the sugar, butter, and flower water. Mix together with your hands.
For the next part you'll ideally have a round pan, but if not you can use a baking sheet. Start by oiling it. Brush each sheet of warqa with butter. You want to overlap three sheets of the warqa around the pan so that they overlap in the middle and extend over the sides. Now place one sheet in the middle of the pan that will serve as the bottom. Add your chicken filling to the dough basket, then add the stuffing on top of the chicken, spreading out evenly. Place an additional sheet of warqa on top. Apply the almond topping to the top of this. Take the excess dough and fold over the almond topping, smoothing everything out.
Brush butter over the edges of the dough. Place three more sheets of warqa on top, overlapping them. Fold the new sheets of dough around and under the pie. Add the egg yolk to the sides and top, then lightly add oil.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a baking sheet and place the bastilla on it. Put everything on a middle rack of the oven and bake for 30 or 40 minutes. You want the pie to get a rich golden brown color.
When done cooking, coat with the powdered sugar. Sift your cinnamon on top of the powdered sugar. Your Moroccan chicken bastilla is ready to go!
The ingredients you'll need for the chicken itself are:
- a five pound chicken
- chopped sweet onions (2 large)
- unsalted butter (quarter cup)
- olive oil (quarter cup)
- cinnamon sticks (3)
- ground ginger (1 tablespoon)
- crumbled saffron threads (1 teaspoon)
- turmeric (1 teaspoon)
- ground white pepper (1.5 teaspoons)
- ground black pepper (1 teaspoon)
- salt (2 teaspoons)
The ingredients you'll need for the stuffing are:
- large eggs (8, beaten)
- chopped fresh cilantro (quarter cup)
Ingredients for the dough:
- melted unsalted butter (half cup)
- phyllo dough (1 pound), or ideally warqa, if you can find it
- large beaten egg yolk (1)
- vegetable oil
Ingredients for the almond topping:
- whole almonds, blanched (2 cups)
- softened unsalted butter (1 tablespoon)
- confectioners sugar (half cup)
- vegetable oil (quarter cup)
- orange flower water (2 tablespoons)
Ingredients you'll want to have for the garnish:
- ground cinnamon (3 tablespoons)
- confectioners' sugar (half cup)
Let's start with the chicken. You'll want to slice the chicken into pieces and throw away the chicken skin. Use a heavy pot and add the oil and butter from the chicken section of the ingredients. Put over medium heat and let the butter melt. Add the onion and cook for around 2 minutes so that the onion gets translucent.
Now add all the spices and stir for around half a minute as it continues cooking. Next you want to add the pieces of chicken. Stir and let the chicken become coated. Cover the pot and set the stovetop to medium heat. Cook for around an hour, until the chicken is fully cooked and tender. Make sure you stir the chicken and sauce periodically so that it doesn't burn.
At this point, take the chicken out and onto a plate. Keep cooking the sauce until its reduced. You'll need to keep stirring periodically to keep from burning. Remove and get rid of the cinnamon sticks. As you're reducing the sauce, remove the chicken from the bone and cut into pieces.
Take a large skillet and add the reduced sauce/onion mixture, along with the cilantro. Heat to a simmer and simmer for about a minute. Now add the beaten eggs. You'll cook it like cooking scrambled eggs, but it will take longer with the sauce involved, around 10 minutes. This is now ready to go.
Take a clean skillet and add the vegetable oil for the almond topping. You want to heat it just until it starts to shimmer. Now fry the almonds as you stir continuously. When they are golden brown, move them to a paper towel-covered plate or tray and fry the next batch of almonds. Let the almonds completely cool and grind in a food processor until finely ground. Add the ground almonds to a bowl and add the sugar, butter, and flower water. Mix together with your hands.
For the next part you'll ideally have a round pan, but if not you can use a baking sheet. Start by oiling it. Brush each sheet of warqa with butter. You want to overlap three sheets of the warqa around the pan so that they overlap in the middle and extend over the sides. Now place one sheet in the middle of the pan that will serve as the bottom. Add your chicken filling to the dough basket, then add the stuffing on top of the chicken, spreading out evenly. Place an additional sheet of warqa on top. Apply the almond topping to the top of this. Take the excess dough and fold over the almond topping, smoothing everything out.
Brush butter over the edges of the dough. Place three more sheets of warqa on top, overlapping them. Fold the new sheets of dough around and under the pie. Add the egg yolk to the sides and top, then lightly add oil.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a baking sheet and place the bastilla on it. Put everything on a middle rack of the oven and bake for 30 or 40 minutes. You want the pie to get a rich golden brown color.
When done cooking, coat with the powdered sugar. Sift your cinnamon on top of the powdered sugar. Your Moroccan chicken bastilla is ready to go!