Chicken Bastilla — Moroccan Pie with Almonds – Dairy-free version

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Wrapping Dough

1. 1
   Thaw the phyllo dough in the fridge overnight, until pliable but still cold.

   Refrigerator

   💡Work with store-bought dough while it's cold: warm puff pastry gets sticky and won't puff in the oven, and phyllo sheets dry out fast, so keep the waiting sheets covered with a damp towel.

For the Pastry Filling

1. 2
   Heat the olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveFrying pan
2. 3
   Add the onion and fry 5–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 4
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.
4. 5
   Add the cinnamon, ginger and turmeric and fry about a minute, until fragrant.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove
5. 6
   Add the chicken, season with salt and black pepper and cook for 45 minutes, until the chicken is cooked.

   Stove
6. 7
   Take out the chicken, pull the meat off the bones and shred the meat into small pieces and return it to the onion.

   Fork
7. 8
   Add the rose water and eggs and cook, stirring, until the eggs set and the mixture is dry.

   Stove

   💡Cook the eggs into the chicken until no liquid is left: a wet filling softens the phyllo from the inside and the pie won't be crisp.
8. 9
   Remove from the heat, stir in the parsley and let the filling cool completely.

To assemble

1. 10
   Toast the almonds in the oven at 160°C (320°F) for 10 minutes, and chop coarsely.

   OvenBaking panKnifeCutting board
2. 11
   Preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F).

   ⚙ Preheating the OvenOven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
3. 12
   Grease Pan and lay in it 5 phyllo sheets, spreading a little the oil on each sheet.

   Baking panPastry brush
4. 13
   Fill with the cooled filling and smooth the top.
5. 14
   Sprinkle the almonds over the filling.
6. 15
   Cover with 5 more phyllo sheets, brushing each one with a little the oil as well.

   Pastry brush
7. 16
   Bake 30 minutes, until the pie is golden.

   ⚙ BakingOvenBaking pan

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.
8. 17
   Sprinkle the powdered sugar and cinnamon over the top and serve.