Pastilla

Pastilla (بسطيلة)

In Moroccan Arabic: بسطيلة (bastilla), from the Spanish word pastilla. In Hebrew it appears as “בסטילה,” “פסטייה,” “בסטיה” or “פסטילה.” The name itself gives away the dish’s origin — it came to Morocco with the exiles from al-Andalus, and that also explains its strangest feature.

Pastilla is a round layered pastry filled with chicken (originally pigeon) cooked in saffron, beaten eggs set in the sauce, and fried, ground almonds — and it is served dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon. In other words: a savory main course covered in sugar. In Morocco it is the dish of celebrations — weddings, honored guests and holiday meals.

Prep time: 60 minutes · Cooking and baking time: 90 minutes · Total: about two and a half hours · Yield: 8 servings · Difficulty: high

Sweet on savory: a 500-year-old Andalusian relic

Combining meat, sugar and cinnamon on the same plate sounds odd today, but until the early modern era it was completely normal in the cuisines of Europe and the Middle East. Medieval cooking had no sharp divide between “savory” and “sweet”; sugar was an expensive spice, like saffron, and those who could afford it sprinkled it on meat dishes precisely to show that they could.

In Europe the separation between main course and dessert took shape in the 17th-18th centuries and the habit disappeared; in Morocco it survived. Pastilla, which arrived with the exiles from Spain after 1492, has stayed almost as it was — and so have tfaya (onion and raisins with cinnamon on couscous) and tagines with prunes and dates. A similar relic in Persian cuisine is fesenjan.

The second detail that gives away its origin is the wrapper. Originally it is warqa, “leaf” — a liquid dough dabbed by hand onto an upturned hot pan to form paper-thin, translucent sheets. Making warqa by hand is a profession, which is why almost every pastilla outside Morocco — and many inside it — is made today with phyllo sheets. The difference is real but not critical: warqa is more pliable and less brittle, while phyllo is drier and needs a more generous hand with the brush.

Ingredients (for 8 servings)

For the chicken filling:

• 1.1 kg bone-in chicken pieces (for example thighs and drumsticks totaling this weight; see chicken breast)
• 3 large onions (about 400 grams), finely chopped
• 40 ml olive oil
• A generous pinch of saffron, soaked in hot water
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, black pepper
• A bunch of cilantro and a bunch of parsley, chopped
• 4 eggs, beaten
• Salt

For the almond layer:

• 150 grams whole blanched almonds
• Oil for a quick fry
• 2 tablespoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

For assembly:

• 10-12 phyllo sheets (or warqa)
• 80 grams melted butter
• Powdered sugar and cinnamon for dusting

Choosing ingredients and substitutes

Frozen supermarket phyllo sheets work in place of warqa: thaw them in the fridge according to the package and keep them covered while you work. Use chicken pieces in the total weight given, with no need for pigeon or special pastry sheets. The saffron can be skipped; the turmeric already in the recipe will add color. Use regular powdered sugar for the topping.

Method

1. Cook the chicken. Heat oil in a wide pot, add the onion, spices and half of the chopped herbs, and fry for 8 minutes. Add the chicken pieces, season with salt, cover halfway with water, and cook for 45 minutes over low heat until the meat falls off the bone.
2. Shred and reduce. Remove the chicken, shred it and discard the bones and skin. Return the pot to the heat uncovered and reduce the liquid until only a thick sauce and a little onion remain — about 15 minutes. If you want a lighter dish, skim off the layer of fat floating on top at this stage, before reducing — about 40 calories less per serving.
3. Set the eggs. Lower the heat, pour the beaten eggs and the rest of the herbs into the sauce, and stir continuously until the eggs set completely into moist crumbs. This is the critical step in the recipe: an egg mixture that is too wet will soak the phyllo from below, and the pastry will never be crisp. It should look almost dry.
4. Prepare the almonds. Fry the almonds in deep oil for a minute or two until golden, drain on paper towels, then grind coarsely with the sugar and cinnamon. You can toast them in the oven instead of frying — about 20 calories less per serving.
5. Assemble. Brush a round pan (26-28 cm) with butter, and lay in 5-6 phyllo sheets with their edges hanging over the pan, each brushed with butter. Spread the egg and chicken mixture, and the almonds over it.
6. Close. Fold the overhanging edges inward, cover with 4-5 more brushed sheets, and tuck the edges firmly underneath. Brush the whole surface with butter.
7. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius (356°F) for 30-35 minutes until deep and evenly golden.
8. Dust and serve. Immediately dust with a generous layer of powdered sugar and mark lines of cinnamon on it in a traditional pattern. Serve hot.

Nutrition facts and calorie estimate

The recommended serving is one-eighth of the pastry — one wedge.

Pastilla is a festive dish, and the number reflects that. The calorie sources break down roughly like this: the chicken about 175 calories per serving, the almonds and the oil they absorbed about 130, the phyllo sheets about 94, the butter between the sheets about 72, the cooking oil and onion about 60, the eggs about 36, and the sugar — the most visually striking component — only about 27.

Two points emerge from this breakdown. The first is that the sugar is misleading: the layer of powdered sugar leads many people to assume this is a high-sugar dish, but in practice 7 grams of sugar per serving is about half the amount in a square of baklava — in a serving three times its size. The second is that the three real sources of calorie density are the almonds, the butter between the sheets and the chicken fat, and each can be reduced separately: skimming the fat off the sauce before reducing cuts about 40 calories per serving, 60 grams of butter instead of 80 cuts about 18 more, and toasting the almonds instead of frying them another 20 or so.

On the other hand, 27 grams of protein per serving, along with vitamin E and magnesium from the almonds, make it a complete main course rather than a pastry eaten alongside something else.

Variations and tips

• Skimming the fat from the sauce: About 560 calories per serving instead of 600 — the biggest lever, with no change in flavor.
• Fish or vegetable pastilla: Common versions without sugar and cinnamon — seafood and glass noodles, or vegetables and almonds. About 390-420 calories per serving.
• Individual pastillas: Small squares instead of one large pastry. Shortens baking to 20 minutes and makes portion control easier.
• Making ahead: Assemble and freeze unbaked for up to two months, and bake straight from the freezer, adding 15 minutes. A baked pastilla that has cooled loses its crispness and doesn’t recover when reheated.

Summary

Pastilla is a dish that explains half a millennium of history in one bite: saffron chicken and powdered sugar on the same plate, a relic of a medieval cuisine that vanished everywhere else. About 600 calories per serving, with 40 grams of fat and about 27 grams of protein — a festive main course, not an everyday pastry. The step that decides whether it succeeds isn’t the folding but drying out the egg mixture. More recipes in Moroccan cuisine.