Moroccan Bastilla (Chicken and Almond Pie)

About This Recipe

Bastilla (also spelled b'stilla or pastilla) is one of the greatest dishes in all of Moroccan cooking and one of the most surprising: a savoury-sweet pie where spiced chicken (originally pigeon) is layered with a delicate egg custard and a crunchy almond-cinnamon layer inside wafer-thin warqa (or filo) pastry, then dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon after baking. The contrast of crispy pastry, savoury chicken, sweet almonds and the floral warmth of ras el hanout creates a flavour profile unlike anything in European cuisine. Bastilla is served at weddings, at eid celebrations, and to honoured guests — it is never an everyday dish. Properly made, it requires hours of patient work.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 1 kgchicken thighs(bone-in)
• 2onions(grated)
• 1 bunchfresh parsley and cilantro(tied together)
• 1 tspground ginger
• 1 tspground cinnamon
• 0.5 tspsaffron threads(steeped in 2 tbsp warm water)
• 1 tspras el hanout
• 4 tbspbutter
• 200 mlwater or chicken stock
• 6eggs(beaten)
• 200 gblanched almonds(toasted then roughly ground)
• 3 tbspicing sugar(plus extra to dust)
• 1 tsporange blossom water
• 10 sheetsfilo pastry(or warqa pastry)
• 80 gbutter(melted, for brushing filo)
• 1 tspground cinnamon(to dust)

Instructions

1. 1

   Braise chicken

   Place chicken in a wide pot with grated onion, herb bundle, ginger, cinnamon, saffron, ras el hanout, butter and water. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer 45 min until chicken is very tender and broth reduced. Remove herbs.

2. 2

   Shred chicken

   Remove chicken, shred meat finely, discard skin and bones. Set aside.

3. 3

   Make egg layer

   Return the cooking juices to medium heat. Pour in beaten eggs and stir constantly for 5–7 min — cooking the eggs slowly in the reduced broth creates a creamy, almost custard-like scramble. It should be moist, not dry. Season and cool.

   Don't rush the eggs — slow cooking in the aromatic broth is what gives the bastilla its signature flavour.

4. 4

   Make almond layer

   Mix ground toasted almonds with icing sugar, cinnamon and orange blossom water. It should be like a coarse paste.

5. 5

   Assemble

   Preheat oven to 190°C. Butter a 26cm round baking dish. Lay 4 overlapping sheets of filo in the base, brushed with butter, hanging over the edges. Add chicken layer, then egg layer, then almond layer. Fold filo sheets back over the filling. Add remaining filo sheets, brushed with butter, tucked underneath. Brush top generously with butter.

6. 6

   Bake and finish

   Bake 25–30 min until deep golden and crispy. Dust generously with icing sugar and draw a cinnamon cross-hatch pattern over the top — the traditional decoration.

Variations

• •

  Seafood bastilla: shrimp, squid and vermicelli filling — popular in coastal Moroccan cities

• •

  Individual mini-bastilla: make 12 small parcels folded like triangles for a more elegant presentation

• •

  Use warka (Moroccan pastry) if available — it gives a more delicate, crispier result than filo

• •

  Vegetarian: swap the protein for roasted king oyster mushrooms, smoked tofu or cooked chickpeas — adjust seasoning slightly upward to compensate.

Storage

Best served the day it is made. Leftovers reheat in the oven at 180°C for 15 min to restore crispiness. Do not microwave — the filo turns soggy.

Frequently Asked Questions