Cooking lessons: Chicken B'stila

Yesterday, I made Chicken B'stila (B'stila B'djej) for dinner. It's a traditional Moroccan dish that I love (and so does mom!) When we were at Epcot earlier this year, she bought me a Moroccan cookbook, which I keep meaning to use...and finally had the chance to this week. It's almost like a middle-eastern chicken pot pie with WAY better flavor than Marie Callander's! :)

Here's the recipe (from "Cooking at the Kasbah," by Kitty Morse)

Filling:

2T vegetable oil

1 onion, finely chopped

6 skinned chicken thighs

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

1/4c. minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

2T minced fresh cilantro

1/4t. ground turmeric

8 threads Spanish saffron, toasted and crushed

1c. water

1t. ground ginger

1 1/4t. ground cinnamon

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1t. salt

1/2t. pepper

2/3c. powdered sugar

In a dutch oven over medium heat, heat the oil. Saute the onion until golden, 6-8 minutes. Add the chicken, parsley, cilantro, turmeric, saffron, water, ginger, and cinnamon. Cover and cook until the chicken is tender, 20-25 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a bowl and set aside to cool.

Let the sauce continue to simmer in the pan and add the beaten eggs, salt, pepper, and sugar. Stir constantly until the eggs are scrambled. Bone and shred the chicken and add it to the eggs, set aside.

Mary's note: I doubled this recipe, and the chicken took about 35 minutes to cook through. I also used all thighs instead of adding the boneless/skinless breasts--I used 14 thighs for a doubled recipe, and it ended up being enough filling for at least three b'stilas, with generous amounts of filling. Filling can be made a day ahead and re-warmed briefly before assembling the b'stila.

Almond Mixture:

1/2c. whole blanched almonds

1/2c. powdered sugar

1t. ground cinnamon

In a blender or food processor, coarsely grind the almonds. Transfer them to a small bowl and mix them with the sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

Assembly:

12 sheets phyllo dough, thawed

1c. (2 sticks) butter, melted

Ground cinnamon & powdered sugar for garnish

Preheat the oven to 425F. Remove 12 sheets of phyllo dough from the package and rewrap the remaining phyllo in its original plastic wrap. Refrigerate for another use.

Stack the 12 sheets on a work surface. Using a sharp knife, with a 12" pizza pan as a template, cut through the stacked phyllo sheets. Discard the scraps. With a pastry brush, paint the pizza pan with a little melted butter. Keep the phyllo leaves covered with a damp cloth as you work.

Layer 3 round phyllo leaves on the pan, lightly brushing each with melted butter. Sprinkle the third leaf lightly and evenly with the almond mixture. Layer and butter three more leaves. Spread the chicken mixture evenly over the top, leaving a 1.5" border of phyllo. Fold over the edges to partially cover the chicken mixture. Layer and butter 3 more leaves over the chicken, sprinkling the remaining ground almond mixture evenly over the top. Layer and butter the last 3 leaves of phyllo over the almond mixture. Tuck the edges of these last 6 leaves under the b'stila.

Bake until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Place the powdered sugar in a fine-meshed sieve. Tap the sides of the sieve to cover the surface of the b'stila lightly and evenly with sugar. Using your thumb and forefinger, sprinkle ground cinnamon in 6-8 lines to create a diamond pattern, or make your own design. Serve immediately, before the b'stila becomes soggy.

Author's note: Can be frozen before cooking, wrapped in foil. Add an extra 10 minutes to cooking time when cooking a frozen b'stila. These will keep up to 2 months in the freezer.

Mary's Notes: I used 9x12" phyllo, and left it rectangular, using a rimmed cookie sheet instead of a pizza pan. I didn't tuck the edges, just left them squared, and the dish turned out really well. The original recipe (without doubling) will make 1.5 b'stilas easily, possibly 2. I'm planning to get at least three out of a doubled recipe.

Here's the b'stila before baking:

And here it is, on my plate!Definitely delicious, I'm so excited to have so many leftovers (and a couple of extra in the freezer!)

Next to come in cooking lessons is Once a Month Cooking Day--but not until the weekend!