Pastilla is a stuffed pastry from Morocco, also known as b’stilla or bastilla. The rich, sweet and savory pie is filled with an unusual mix of pigeon or chicken meat, eggs, almonds, and cinnamon. It is commonly prepared for special events such as holidays, weddings, or parties.
For the dough envelope
- 10 brick dough sheets (or filo dough sheets)
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
- 1 egg white , beaten
- 2 tablespoons icing sugar
- Ground cinnamon , to taste
For the Cornish hen and egg filling
- 2 large Cornish hens
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 bunch flat parsley , chopped
- 4 onions , thinly sliced
- A few saffron threads
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 6 eggs , beaten
- Salt
- Pepper
- 1 tablespoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- ½ cup cold water
For the almond filling
- ¾ cup sunflower oil
- 8 oz. whole almonds , blanched and peeled
- 2 tablespoons icing sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cornish hens
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the Cornish hens, and brown all sides for a few minutes.
- Add the onions, parsley, ginger, turmeric, saffron, salt and pepper. Add ½ cup (120ml) of cold water, mix well and cook over medium heat for 35 minutes.
- Remove the Cornish hens from the sauce. De-bone them and shred the flesh.
Egg mixture
- Put the sauce back on medium/high heat to reduce until the liquid evaporates, stirring constantly. Add the cinnamon stick and sugar to caramelize the onions.
- Add the eggs to the caramelized onions, stirring constantly and vigorously. The mixture should have the texture of a thick cream. Reduce so all the liquid evaporates.
Almonds
- Add the oil to a large non-stick pan over medium/high heat. Add the peeled almonds right away and fry them, without burning them, for a few minutes until golden.
- Drain the almonds and crush them in a food processor with the ground cinnamon and icing sugar.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (180˚C).
Assembly
- Grease a round pan with butter.
- Thoroughly grease each brick dough sheet with butter. Important: The buttered side should always face up.
- At the bottom of the dish, lay 4 sheets of brick by overlapping them one on top the other and having half of each of them hanging outside the pan.
- Add a sheet to the center to consolidate the bottom of the pastilla.
- Place a layer of egg mixture on the sheets, spreading evenly over the entire surface. Cover with a sheet of brick. Add the Cornish hen in the same way and cover with another sheet of brick. Finally, add the crushed almonds.
- Fold the edges of the leaves toward the center and press lightly to seal with the layer of almonds. Coat with egg white to seal the leaves.
- Cover with 2 brik sheets to close the pastilla, and insert the edges towards the inside of the mold.
- Brush the edges of the last sheet with egg white so that it adheres well and does not peel off during baking.
- Brush the surface of the pastilla with melted butter.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
- Place the pastilla on a serving dish. Dust with iced sugar and cinnamon. Serve hot.
