Our favorite dish from Moroccan cuisine: Chicken bastilla
In The Ramadan Cookbook – the first cookbook created especially for the fasting month – Mounir Toub shows you the most delicious recipes for Ramadan, Eid and other festive occasions. For Mounir, chicken bastilla is an imaginary journey through culinary Morocco. ‘My mother always made this dish for small and big celebrations. And because your senses are extra alert during Ramadan, it tastes even better at Eid al-Fitr.’
We love bastilla; it is the perfect combination of savory and sweet. And we completely agree with Mounir: ‘If you really love your guests, you serve chicken bastilla.’
How to make Chicken bastilla
Preparation
1 Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2 For filling 2, fry the blanched almonds in a layer of oil until golden brown, then drain well on paper towels and leave to cool. Put them in a food processor, add the sugar and grind finely. Season with orange blossom water.
3 Unfold the sheets of baklava pastry and cut them into four quarters. Stack them and wrap them in a clean, dry kitchen towel to prevent them from drying out. Heat the butter and oil, stirring.
Preparation
4 For filling 1, heat some oil in a pan and fry the chicken thigh fillets and onion over low heat until golden brown. Add the ginger powder, cinnamon, and some salt and pepper, and fry the spices for 1 minute. Deglaze with the chicken stock and add the cilantro and parsley. Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 hour, until the chicken thighs are completely cooked.
5 Remove them from the pan and reduce the stock by half. Add the lemon zest, dates and raisins, and thicken the sauce with the eggs by stirring them in one at a time. Add the smen and continue cooking the sauce over low heat for 3 minutes, then leave it to cool. Tear the cooked and now cooled chicken thighs into strips and add them to the sauce.
Assembly
6 Brush one sheet of baklava pastry with the butter-oil mixture, place a second sheet on top and brush that one too. Spoon the sugared almonds into the center. Place another sheet of baklava pastry on top and brush it with the butter-oil mixture. Spoon the cooled chicken mixture on top. Fold the sides inward and brush them with the butter-oil mixture as well.
7 Once the chicken mixture is well wrapped, turn the bastilla over and place it on the baking sheet with the folded side down. Brush the top of the bastilla with the butter-oil mixture and bake it in the oven for 15 minutes until golden brown and crisp.
Serving
8 Place the bastilla on a plate and dust generously with powdered sugar and cinnamon.
Tips:
Leave as little time as possible between making and eating the bastilla. The longer it sits, the less crisp the pastry becomes.
Preferably eat this chicken bastilla with your hands, so you can fully enjoy this royal feast.
Title: The Ramadan Cookbook
Author: Mounir Toub
Price: €27,50
Publisher: Kosmos
Also read:
- Delicious Ramadan dish: roasted eggplants with toppings
- Surprise: Ramadan is very healthy
- What do you buy at the Turkish supermarket?
