Pastilla
User Reviews
4.8
15 reviews
Excellent
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Prep Time
2 hrs
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Cook Time
1 hr
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Total Time
3 hrs
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Servings
8 people
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
Moroccan, North African
Pastilla
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Pastilla is the most emblematic Moroccan appetizer. It consists of a sweet & savory chicken filling that is wrapped in layers of very thin dough.
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Ingredients
For the dough envelope
- 10 brick dough sheets (or filo dough sheets)
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
- 1 egg white , beaten
- 2 tablespoons icing sugar
- ground cinnamon , to taste
For the Cornish hen and egg filling
- 2 large Cornish hens
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 bunch flat parsley , chopped
- 4 onions , thinly sliced
- A few saffron threads
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 6 eggs , beaten
- salt
- pepper
- 1 tablespoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon Turmeric
- ½ cup cold water
For the almond filling
- ¾ cup sunflower oil
- 8 oz. whole almonds , blanched and peeled
- 2 tablespoons icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
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Instructions
Cornish hens
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the Cornish hens, and brown all sides for a few minutes.
- Add the onions, parsley, ginger, turmeric, saffron, salt and pepper. Add ½ cup (120ml) of cold water, mix well and cook over medium heat for 35 minutes.
- Remove the Cornish hens from the sauce. De-bone them and shred the flesh.
Egg mixture
- Put the sauce back on medium/high heat to reduce until the liquid evaporates, stirring constantly. Add the cinnamon stick and sugar to caramelize the onions.
- Add the eggs to the caramelized onions, stirring constantly and vigorously. The mixture should have the texture of a thick cream. Reduce so all the liquid evaporates.
Almonds
- Add the oil to a large non-stick pan over medium/high heat. Add the peeled almonds right away and fry them, without burning them, for a few minutes until golden.
- Drain the almonds and crush them in a food processor with the ground cinnamon and icing sugar.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (180˚C).
Assembly
- Grease a round pan with butter.
- Thoroughly grease each brick dough sheet with butter. Important: The buttered side should always face up.
- At the bottom of the dish, lay 4 sheets of brick by overlapping them one on top the other and having half of each of them hanging outside the pan.
- Add a sheet to the center to consolidate the bottom of the pastilla.
- Place a layer of egg mixture on the sheets, spreading evenly over the entire surface. Cover with a sheet of brick. Add the Cornish hen in the same way and cover with another sheet of brick. Finally, add the crushed almonds.
- Fold the edges of the leaves toward the center and press lightly to seal with the layer of almonds. Coat with egg white to seal the leaves.
- Cover with 2 brik sheets to close the pastilla, and insert the edges towards the inside of the mold.
- Brush the edges of the last sheet with egg white so that it adheres well and does not peel off during baking.
- Brush the surface of the pastilla with melted butter.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
- Place the pastilla on a serving dish. Dust with iced sugar and cinnamon. Serve hot.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.8
15 reviews
Excellent
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