Another great pie, a version of a Moroccan Pastilla by Yotam Ottolenghi from his book Ottolenghi Test Kitchen - Extra Good Things, it is delicious. The pastry is light and crunchy with tender chicken strips slowly cooked with spices & onions, topped with soft eggs and sweet crunchy cinnamon almonds.
There is a bit of effort involved in making this dish but it is well worth it, the pastry can be made a day in advance to save time.
Cashew nuts also work well instead of almonds.
Ingredients:
Pie/Pastilla Dough:
80g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
40g wholemeal flour
1 1/2 tsp caster sugar
115g cold unsalted butter, cut into 1 1/2 cm cubes
2 cloves garlic, peeled & crushed
60ml ice cold water
salt & pepper
Topping:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, peeled, halved & thinly sliced (roughly 200g)
20g fresh ginger, peeled & finely grated
400g chicken thighs (boneless & skinless)
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp saffron treads, soaked in 30ml hot water for 2o mins
5g fresh coriander, roughly chopped, plus extra leaves to garnish
4 large eggs
3/4 tbsp lemon juice
Cinnamon Almonds:
1 tbsp caster sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp olive oil
25g blanched almonds, toasted (cashew nuts work well here to0)
Method:
For the dough:
Whisk both flours, the sugar & 1/4 tsp of salt together in a large bowl.
Add butter and incorporate into flour by squashing the cubes flat with your fingers. Don’t overwork the butter, you want chunks of it throughout the dough, lightly press with your fingers to achieve this.
Add garlic & water and using your hands, bring together to a shaggy ball. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 20 mins.
80g plain flour, 40g wholemeal flour, 1 1/2 caster sugar, please 115g unsalted butter, 2 crushed cloves of garlic, 60ml ice-cold water, |
Sprinkle flour on a clean work surface and a rolling pin and then roll the dough out into a 28cm x 18cm rectangle. Fold the shorter ends of the pastry in towards each other so that they meet in the middle, then fold the dough in half. Roll out the dough once with the rolling pin and then repeat this process again, folding the shorter ends and then folding the dough in half again. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.
For the topping:
Put 1 1/2 tbsps of the oil into a large sauté pan, for which you have a lid, on a medium-high heat, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally until softened and lightly golden, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger, chicken and cinnamon and cook for 4 minutes more, to seal the chicken. Add the saffron water, 200ml of water, 3/4 tsp of salt & a good grind of black pepper.
Olive oil, 1 large thinly sliced onion, 20g finely grated fresh ginger, 400g chicken thighs, 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon, pinch of saffron threads soaked in 30ml of hot water, salt & freshly ground black pepper |
Lower the heat to medium-low, cover and leave to cook for about 25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a bowl, roughly shred into large chunks & set aside.
Return the pan to a medium-high heat, allow sauce to bubble and reduce for about 8 minutes to roughly 6 tablespoons. Remove from heat and stir in chicken & coriander.
Cooked chicken, 5g fresh coriander roughly chopped |
For the cinnamon almonds:
Add the sugar, cinnamon, oil and 1 tsp of water to a small saucepan on a medium heat. Stir continuously until bubbling, about 2 mins, then add the almonds and cook for a few minutes more or until crystallised. Transfer to a parchment-lined plate and leave to cool completely. Roughly chop.
1 tbsp caster sugar, 1/4 ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp olive oil, 25g toasted blanched almonds |
Preheat oven to 190˚C fan (Aga baking oven)
Cut out a piece of baking parchment to fit a large baking tray and place it on a work surface. Lightly flour the paper then roll the dough out on it to 28cm x 28cm square.
Fold over the edges by about 1/2 cm to create a thin rim around the pie.
Transfer the parchment and dough to the large baking tray. Spread the chicken on the base, out to the rim and bake for 22 mins.
Remove from oven and create 4 wells in the chicken mixture with the back of a spoon. Crack the eggs into the wells and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Bake for another 7-9 minutes or until the whites have cooked through and the yolks are still runny.
Your pre-made dough, chicken, 4 free-range eggs, salt & pepper |
Slide the pie onto a wooden board, spoon over lemon juice, drizzle with the remaining 1 1/2 tsps of oil and sprinkle with the extra coriander and cinnamon almonds.
Serve with a nice green salad.
Notes:
Love cooking with fresh herbs such as the coriander in this recipe, why not try a Click & Grow smart garden. In a smart garden you can grow your own herbs, salads and vegetables such as tomatoes, chillies, peppers, peas etc organically in your kitchen 365 days a year. Growing herbs in this way reduces food waste, no buying packets of herbs etc from which you only require a few sprigs, then the packet getting left in the bottom of the fridge to go past its best and then being thrown away. Just pick what you need on a daily basis.
If you are interested in learning more about using a smart garden, see my smart garden page.
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