Moroccan Chicken Bastilla
Chicken Bastilla is a traditional Maghrebian pie filled with chicken, scrambled eggs and a crunchy layer of sweet cinnamon toasted almonds, all wrapped up in buttery phyllo pastry.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts deboned
- 1 1/2 cups onions chopped
- 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh gingerroot peeled and finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/4 teaspoon saffron ground
- 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons fresh coriander leaves chopped
- 7 large eggs lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 lb phyllo dough thawed (about 18 to 24 leaves)
- 1 cup butter 2 sticks
Topping for Phyllo leaves
- 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Topping for filling
- 1 1/2 cups slivered almonds
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken breasts and cook until golden brown on all sides. Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.
- In the same skillet add onions, garlic, ginger, and 1 tablespoon oil. Saute, stirring constantly, until onions are translucent. Stir in cinnamon, cumin, ground coriander, red pepper, turmeric, and saffron. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, until onions are completely coated with spices, about 3 minutes.
- Increase heat to high and add the broth and fresh coriander to skillet. Bring to a boil, stirring to combine. Return chicken to skillet and spoon mixture on chicken, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove chicken from skillet to plate and set aside to cool.
- Continue to cook onion mixture until almost dry, about 15 minutes. Add eggs, salt, and pepper to skillet and cook until soft curds form, about 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and set aside.
- Make phyllo leaves topping: heat oven to 375 F. Spread almonds on a ungreased baking sheet and place in oven for 7 minutes or until lightly toasted. In food processor, process almonds with sugar and cinnamon until coarsely ground.
- When chicken is cool enough to handle, tear chicken into 2-inch-long strips.
- To assemble bastilla, place phyllo between 1 sheet of parchment paper and cover with damp towel at all times. Brush 12-inch pizza pan with some melted butter. Remove 1 sheet of Phyllo and place on pan, letting the edges hang over the rim. Brush phyllo with butter. Working quickly, stack and butter 1/2 the sheets, arranging them in the pan in an overlapping, circular fashion.
- On center of phyllo, in even layers, place half the topping, half of onion-egg mixture, all of chicken, the remaining onion-egg mixture, and the remaining Topping, Fold overhanging phyllo over top of bastilla and brush top with butter.
- Continue to butter the other 1/2 of the phyllo sheets in the same pinwheel fashion over top of bastilla. Carefully tuck the overhanging ends underneath it. Brush top and side of bastilla with butter.
- Heat oven to 350 F and bake bastilla 20 minutes, or until golden. Place a baking sheet or another 12-inch pizza pan over the bastilla and invert so that the underside is now on top. Return to oven on the new pan and bake 25 minutes longer or until crisp and golden.
- When the bastilla is ready, flip as above on a serving plate. Sprinkle confectioners' sugar and ground cinnamon on top of bastilla, with a handful of toasted almonds slices if you wish.