COOKING COMPANION
MOROCCAN PASTILLA Pastilla, or bastilla, is a Moroccan pie which looks impressive but is surprisingly easy to make. It doesn’t matter if it’s not that neat. While this recipe uses pistachios, the locals use almonds – the choice is yours.
1 tbsp olive oil 4–6 boneless chicken thighs (about 750g)
10g butter 2 onions, fi nely chopped 2 garlic cloves, fi nely chopped 1 tsp ground ginger Half a tsp cinnamon Half a tsp turmeric Pinch of saff ron 500ml chicken stock 4 eggs, beaten 75g ground almonds or pistachios 75g dried dates, fi nely chopped 1 tbsp orange blossom water 1 tsp orange zest 4 tbsp fi nely chopped parsley Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
TO ASSEMBLE: 6 large sheets of fi lo pastry 60g butter, melted 1 tbsp icing sugar Pinch of cinnamon
1 Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the chicken and fry it skin-side down, until crisped up and brown. Turn the thighs over and cook for a couple more minutes, then remove them from the pan. Add the butter to the pan and when it has melted, add the onions and fry them gently until soft. Add the garlic and spices and fry for a couple more minutes.
2 Put the chicken back in the pan and pour in the stock or 500ml of water. Season, then cover the pan and simmer for about half an hour or until the chicken is tender. Remove the chicken and set it aside. When it is cool enough to handle, fi nely chop the meat – it’s up to you whether you keep the skin or not. Put the liquid back over the heat and reduce it by half.
3 Add the eggs to the cooking liquid and continue to cook over a low heat until you have a mixture that resembles loose scrambled eggs. Add the ground nuts and stir, then add the dates, orange blossom water, zest and fi nally, the chicken. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool.
4 Preheat the oven to 180C / Gas 4. To assemble the pie, you need a large
64 | THE WEST COUNTRY FOODLOVER
SERVES 4
If you’re looking to make your own sweet pastry for pies and
tarts, follow these top tips from Chris Cleghorn, Head Chef at T e Olive Tree, Bath.
I'm a big fan of using pastry in desserts, and one of my favourites would have to be lemon meringue pie. For this I would recommend using a basic sweet pastry. When making the pastry
ovenproof dish about 28cm in diameter.
5 Take a sheet of fi lo pastry and brush it with melted butter. Drape it over the dish, making sure it is gently pushed into the corners without any tearing. Repeat with another sheet of fi lo, this time placing it at a right angle to the fi rst. Repeat with a further 2 sheets of fi lo, this time placing them on the diagonal.
6 Spread the fi lling over the pastry. Fold over the overhanging pieces of fi lo in reverse order – they should just about cover the fi lling. Take the remaining 2 pieces of fi lo and cut them to fi t the dish. Brush them with butter, then cover the pie, tucking under any corners. Bake the pie in the oven for about 30 minutes until the pastry is a crisp, golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a little before dusting it with the icing sugar and cinnamon.
The Hairy Bikers’ Chicken & Egg by Si King and Dave Myers, published by Orion.
I like to use a KitchenAid, to get a quick and even pastry. You can make the perfect pastry in just 2 minutes. One top tip is not to shortcut on the resting
times in pastry. It is really important to rest the gluten between making, rolling and shaping the pastry. T is way you’ll get less shrinkage at the end. How to avoid a soggy base, you ask? T ere are a couple of simple steps you can
take to help avoid this. First I would always blind bake the base
for tarts and some pies. Lightly prick the top of the pastry with a fork. Aſt er place some rice or dried beans in cling fi lm covering the base of the tart. T is allows the pastry to cook without much colour, and stops it from rising. Next remove the rice or beans and cling
fi lm and bake until lightly golden. Now brush with a light egg wash all around the pastry and place in the oven for 1 minute to seal the egg wash. T is helps the pastry to avoid going soggy or leak once you’ve put the fi lling in.
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