101Kidz : Grown Ups : Recipes : Chicken
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Moroccan Chicken/Nut Pie

Ingredients:

Meat of 1/2 chicken (e.g. two boneless breasts)
1/2 lb blanched almonds
1 medium onion
1/2 tsp cinnamon
up to 1/2c sugar or honey
1 tbsp clarified butter
1/3 cup butter

Preparation:

Brown 1/2 lb blanched almonds in a little oil until golden. Chop
coarsely or pound with a mortar and pestle. Add 1/2 tsp cinnamon and (optionally) honey or sugar to sweeten to taste (anc adds none but cites recipes calling for up to 1/2c sugar -- I favor a little honey as the contrast of the sweetness with the savory chicken is part of the exotic appeal of the dish). Set aside.

Heat 1 tbsp clarified butter and 1/3 cup butter in a large heavy pot.
Add 1 minced medium onion and saute for a few minutes. Add chicken meat equivalent to about 1/2 chicken (e.g. two boneless breasts), cut in small pieces (as for a pot pie), along with:

1/2 tsp pepper
1 pinch saffron (or, per ongoing thread, 1/2 tsp turmeric)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup minced parsley
1/4 cup minced coriander (cilantro, chinese parsley)
salt to taste

Simmer until the chicken is done. Beat 2 eggs and slowly stir them into the sauce. Remove from heat.

Have ready phillo sheets, melted butter (at least 1/4 lb), and a pastry
brush. Select a shallow baking pan about 8" in diameter, such as an
iron skillet. What you basically want to do is construct a pie by
layering the phillo sheets in the pan and then folding them over the
contents; it will probably be easiest if you cut the sheets in half or
smaller, for instance into long rectangles about the width of the pan
and twice as long. Brush one of the sheets with melted butter, and put
it, butter side up, in the bottom of the pan, the excess dangling over
the side. Add another sheet, at an angle to the first, and repeat so
that you have phillo covering the bottom of the pan and dangling out all around (this is hard to describe). Use about 5 sheets to form this
layer. Repeat the process, forming another layer. Now pour the chicken and sauce into the pan. Put several more buttered sheets on top of the chicken, this time not overlapping the edge--use smaller pieces or fold them in half. Spread the nut mixture on top of this. Put another layer or so of phillo, then fold the dangling ends over the top so as to close the envelope. (Your mileage may vary on the number and details of layering the sheets). Brush the top with butter. At this point the bstila can be refrigerated if desired (this is time-consuming and you may wish to do all this the day before serving).

Just before serving, put the pan in a 350-degree oven for 15-20 minutes until the top is golden: flip it onto an oven-proof plate (or use an ordinary plate to flip it over back into the skillet) and return to
brown the other side, 30-40 minutes total. Place on a serving platter,
sprinkle with powdered sugar, then make fanciful decorative designs with ground cinnamon.

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