Ever since I had my first taste of chicken b’stilla from Cafe Moroc in Toronto, I’ve been enamoured by the harmonious blend of sweet and savoury of Moroccan cuisine. Oddly enough, when I traveled to Morocco a few years ago, I never ordered this dish despite all the other delicious food I enjoyed. This week’s French Fridays with Dorie gives me the perfect excuse to recreate this personal favourite right in my own kitchen.
A few key characteristics of chicken b’stilla include flaky phyllo pastry, shredded chicken fragrant with sweet and savoury spices, toasted almond, custard sauce, and cinnamon sugar on top. Greenspan’s recipe covered it all. The cooking can be a little involved but the work can be easily split over a couple of days. My favourite part of this recipe is the filling. Do you know how hard it was to stop myself from eating the filling by the spoonful? Flavourful chicken thighs and onions were simmered in an aromatic broth infused with Kashmiri saffron, coriander, cinnamon, and chicken stock. The broth was then reduced and thickened with eggs into a custard sauce. I’m so glad that someone suggested in the P&Q to temper the eggs! Deviating slightly from the directions, I did not add salt to the broth until it was thickened to custard because the reduction would throw off any initial seasoning. The chicken, onion, and custard sauce were tossed together with parsley and cilantro. At this point, I added orange zest and finely chopped dried apricots to further highlight the sweet side of this recipe.
My past experiences with store-bought frozen phyllo pastry have been hit or miss. During the defrost process, it is often all too easy for the pastry to defrost unevenly with dried out and stuck together pieces. This is partly due to the fact that the pastry may not be properly stored at the grocery store from fluctuation temperature. For this recipe, I had no intention to deal with pastry frustration. If your neighbourhood has Greek pastry shops, I highly recommend that you purchase your phyllo pastry directly from them. I got mind from Athens Pastries, one of the best in Toronto. The dough has never been frozen and due to the volume that they churn out, freshness is guaranteed.
It was rather cute that Greenspan warned in the recipe the assembly is a bit crafty. The recipe called for making a large 9” pie but I don’t have that many mouths to feed. Instead, I made two 6” pies with one of them (unbaked) in the freezer right now. It is also easier to assemble two smaller pies when I only deal with half a sheet of phyllo dough at a time. A pizza wheel comes in handy to neatly cut the dough without fuss. The top piece of the dough was cut using an 8” cake ring which worked out to be the perfect size. The edges of the top piece was tuck into the pie with the help of a small offset spatula. Is there anything this useful tool cannot do?
I baked the pie much longer than the recipe suggested but that’s because I want to ensure the dough is cooked. The unmolded b’stilla stood tall and proud. I think the 6” size is absolutely perfect to serve 4 with enough tummy room for other dishes. I love my addition of orange zest and dried apricot. They blend so well with the spices. Each bite of b’stilla is a great mix of savoury and sweet with a nice depth provided by saffron. Suffice to say, I’m glad I splurged for the good stuff, unlike last time. Is this a dish I would make again? Absolutely!
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And now it’s time for Lightning Bonus Round! What to do with those leftover phyllo dough? If you follow the recipe, once your pie is assembled, you’re probably looking at scraps of buttered phyllo stack and perhaps a few sheets of leftover dough from the package. Packing the unbuttered dough to the fridge is an option but it will likely dry up before you turn your attention to it. So since your counter and pans are already a mess with melted butter, why not make something out of the leftovers while the b’stilla is baking?
First, let’s make some phyllo nests out of the buttered scraps. Simply take your pizza wheel and cut them into strips or pieces. Loosely nestle them into the indents of a muffin pan and sprinkle with some of that leftover cinnamon sugar. Bake them until golden and they are nice little treats for the hardworking cook. They are such buttery crunchy addictive little bites! Not into sweets? Just ditch the cinnamon sugar and raid your spice drawer for some ras el hanout or just plain old curry powder.
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If you still have a few pieces of whole phyllo sheets, now is the best time to make strudel. I happen to have a jar of stewed caramel apples in the fridge. Butter and stack the phyllo sheets like you did for the top of the b’stilla. Cut them to size, fill, and seal. Other great stuff for filling include shredded cheese with drained tuna, Nutella, or chopped dried fruit and nuts tossed with sugar. Bake them until golden and you have dessert to go with chicken b’stilla. How convenient!
As always, don’t forget to check out the works of other French Fridays folks!
P.S. About the dated look of the first photograph with monster size parsley engulfing everything and the ever-so-popular orange half...I was bored with photographing food that is brown and round. I want colour!
