Here's a step-by-step recipe for preparing Moroccan cuisine's highly acclaimed Chicken Bastilla. Crisp, paper-thin pastry encloses savory chicken cooked with saffron.

In Moroccan Bastilla, chicken cooked with saffron, cinnamon and ginger is layered with a spicy omelet stuffing and crunchy sweetened almonds. A crisp and paper-thin pastry shell made from Moroccan warqa or phyllo (fillo) dough encloses the savory ingredients.

The following Moroccan recipe makes a 12” bastilla that serves four as a meal or six as a first course. The recipe may be doubled to make two pies or one very large bastilla. Also try Seafood Bastilla, filled with shrimp, calamari and swordfish.

Chicken Filling

• 1 whole, large chicken, cut into pieces, skin and fat removed
• 2 large onions, chopped medium
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 ½ tsp white pepper
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 2 or 3 sticks of cinnamon
• 1 tsp crushed saffron threads (Hint: Heat threads in a nonstick skillet just until they can be crumbled.)
• 1 tsp turmeric (or ¼ tsp Moroccan yellow colorant)
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup butter

Egg Stuffing

• Small bunch of fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 8 eggs, beaten

Almond Filling

• 1 ½ cups (about 200g) whole blanched almonds
• Vegetable oil, for frying the almonds
• ¼ to ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 to 2 tbsp orange flower water

For the assembly of the pie

• 1 lb (½ kg) warqa or phyllo dough
• ½ cup melted butter
• 1 egg yolk, beaten

Garnish

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1. Prepare the chicken

Mix ingredients for the chicken filling in a large, heavy pot. Cook, covered, over medium heat, stirring and turning the chicken frequently, until the chicken is very tender and begins to fall off the bones. Do not add water, and be careful not to burn.

During cooking, taste the sauce to ensure that it is quite peppery and a bit salty. Adjust the seasoning if necessary. (The intensity of the spices will reduce during baking.)

Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate, reserving the sauce in the pot. While the chicken is still warm, pick the meat off the bones and break it into bite-size pieces.

Meanwhile, simmer the reserved sauce, uncovered, until the onions are a soft blended mass and the liquids reduce to oils. Stir frequently and avoid burning. Discard the cinnamon sticks.

Mix a few tablespoons of the reduced sauce into the chicken. Set the chicken aside.

2. Make the omelet stuffing

Add the chopped cilantro to the sauce in the pot and cook over low heat for a minute or two. Transfer the sauce to a large non-stick skillet and add the eggs. Cook eggs thoroughly, stirring occasionally. Oil separating from the stuffing is normal.

At this point, you can refrigerate the chicken and omelet stuffing overnight in separate containers.

3. Prepare the almonds

Fry the blanched almonds in hot vegetable oil over medium heat until golden; drain and cool. In a food processor, grind the cooled almonds on pulse mode. When the almonds are partially chopped, add ¼ cup powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of orange flower water. Continue pulsing until the almonds are ground small, but not powdery. Taste the almonds, and if desired, stir in a little more orange flower water and sugar.

4. Assembly

The pie will be assembled in this order:

• bottom layer of warqa or phyllo
• chicken
• omelet stuffing
• layer of warqa or phyllo
• almonds
• top layer of warqa or phyllo

Keep your warqa or phyllo covered with plastic while working.

It is easiest to assemble bastilla if you work inside a 14” or larger round pan, but you can work on a flat surface if necessary.

Brush melted butter on the bottom of your pan or your work surface.

Overlap single layers of warqa (shiny side down) or double layers of phyllo to cover the bottom of the pan. Drape the edges of the dough over the side of the pan (see photo below). Brush the dough with melted butter.

Place one 12” circle of warqa (shiny side down) or two 12” circles of phyllo on the center of these overlapping layers. This is the base of your pie and will be your guide for shaping. Brush the circular layer with butter.

Spread your chicken evenly over the base. Top with the omelet stuffing.

Place another 12” circle of warqa (shiny side up) or two circles of phyllo on top of the omelet stuffing. Brush with butter.

Spread the almond filling evenly over the top.

Fold the loose edges of the dough up around the almonds to fully enclose the pie. Try to maintain a circular shape, and trim off any excess that can’t be folded neatly. Brush the tops and sides of the pie with butter.

Top the pie with two or three layers of pastry, shiny side up, overlapping as necessary, to form a smooth top. Fold these top layers snugly around the edge of the pie, tucking the excess under the pie and gently molding a rounded edge.

Brush the entire top and sides of the bastilla first with butter, then with the beaten egg yolk.

The bastilla is now ready for baking. The unbaked bastilla may be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated (up to one day) or frozen (up to two months).

5. Bake and serve

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the bastilla on a buttered baking sheet (one with no sides allows for easy transfer to a serving plate) and bake until crisp and golden brown, about 30 to 45 minutes. A bastilla taken from the freezer may take longer.

Transfer the bastilla to a large serving plate and generously sift powdered sugar over the top and sides. Garnish with a generous sprinkling of ground cinnamon, and serve.

Text Copyright © 2008 by Christine Benlafquih. Reproduction without permission prohibited.