Moroccan Chicken Pie (B'stilla)

Name: Moroccan Chicken Pie (B'stilla)
Prep time: 120 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 160 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Moroccan Imperial & Coastal
Ingredients: 3 cup chicken broth; 0.125 tsp saffron; 2 garlic cloves; 2 cinnamon sticks; 0.5 tsp ground coriander; 0.25 tsp ground turmeric; 0.5 cup finely chopped onion; 0.5 cup finely chopped carrot; 0.5 cup finely minced flat leaf parsley; 8 eggs; 3 tbsp butter; 1.5 cup blanched almonds; 0.333 cup powdered sugar; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 1 lb frozen phyllo dough; 0.75 cup melted butter; 0.5 cup dry breadcrumbs; 4 cup cooked chicken

Chicken, coriander and carrot come together in this pie, fragrant with saffron and cinnamon and baked in the oven. Finish with powdered sugar and ground cinnamon.

2 hr 40 min · Serves 8 · Takes some skill

Method

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Time: Prep 120 min · Cook 40 min · 160 min total
Difficulty: hard

1
Heat chicken broth in a 4-quart saucepan; add in saffron, garlic, cinnamon sticks, coriander, turmeric, onion, and carrot.
2
Bring broth to a boil and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Remove cinnamon sticks from broth, decrease heat to medium.
20 min
3
Stir in parsley and eggs, stirring eggs until they appear like scrambled eggs, but not dry.
4
Remove the eggs and vegetables with a slotted spoon and place them in a colander set over a bowl (refrigerate until ready to proceed).
5
In a heavy pan, melt the butter; add in the almonds and brown them in the butter, being careful not to burn them.
6
Remove from heat, and cool. Place the almonds in a food processor fitted with a metal blade; add the 1/3 cup powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon; pulse on and off until the almonds are ground; set aside until ready to proceed.
7
Preheat oven to 400°. Unwrap the phyllo dough and cover it with a clean kitchen towel. Brush a 13 x 9 inch ovenproof baking dish with melted butter.
8
Brush a sheet of phyllo with melted butter, sprinkle it with some of the bread crumbs, and place it in the baking dish; repeat with 5 more sheets of phyllo, brushing each one with butter and sprinkling it with crumbs (you will have 6 sheets total).
9
Spread half the egg and vegetable mixture over the phyllo, and sprinkle the filling with half of the ground almonds.
10
Cover with 2 more sheets of phyllo brushed with butter and sprinkled with bread crumbs. Cover with all the chicken, then top with 2 more sheets of phllyo brushed with butter and sprinkled with bread crumbs.
11
Top with remaining egg/vegetable mixture and the remaining ground almonds. Cover the pie with 4 more sheets of phyllo, each buttered and sprinkled with bread crumbs (at this point the pie may be refrigerated for up to 24 hours before baking).
1440 min
12
Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the phyllo is golden brown. Remove the pie from the oven and let it rest for 5 minutes.
13
Sprinkle with powdered sugar and ground cinnamon; serve.