1/2 lb almond, blanched
1 oil
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 honey, to taste (opt)
1 tbsp ghi
1/3 cup butter
1 medium onion, minced
1/2 chicken, boned & cubed small
1/2 tsp pepper
1 pinch saffron
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup parsley, minced
1/4 cup coriander, minced
1 salt, to taste
2 egg
1 package filo sheets
1/4 lb butter, melted
Directions
Brown almonds in a little oil until golden. Chop coarsely or pound
with a mortar and pestle. Add 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and (optionally)
honey or sugar to sweeten to taste (ANC adds none but cites recipes
calling for up to 1/2 cup 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 ghi and butter in a large heavy pot. Add minced onion and saut,
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 pepper, saffron, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, parsley,
coriander, and salt to taste.
Simmer until the chicken is done. Beat two eggs and slowly stir them
into the sauce. remove from heat.
Have ready filo 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 filo 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 filo 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 filo, 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 b'stila 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. (When I had this in a
restaurant it said something like "eat me.")
from the rec.food.recipes archives
Servings: 6 servings
B'stila (Moroccan Chicken/Nut Pie) Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Candy; Chicken; Dessert; Pie; Poultry
The History of Recipes
Written cooking instructions as an idea can be observed back into antiquity, in fact as far back into history as the Egyptians, and possibly even further than that. Having said that, in the main part, these ancient cookbooks were just very basic hieroglyphic instructions for preparing food.
In fact, the most ancient recipe discovered so far, according to experts are a few tablets in Sumerian which describe the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made drinkers feel blissful and exhilarated. Progressing into Roman times around 25BC a man called Apicius created a collection of scripts showing how to cook the recipes cooked by his fellow Romans. In his works, Apicius recounts how the meals of wealthy Romans were separated into hors d`oeuvres, main meal and dessert, a style of dining still practiced today. Aspicius describes how the cooks of his times were skilled in the use of a wide range of herbs, including many that are still in use today like thyme, rue and parsley. Later on, we have some interesting books from the 14th Century : a recipe book published under the title `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary titled `Curye on Inglish`. Despite their titles, these books are unconnected to the indian food that is popular today, but rather accounts of the types of food enjoyed by the upper classes. Later on in the 1400s, knights returning from the crusades brought us a variety of foods, spices and herbs from Arab cuisine, including coriander, parsley, basil and rosemary. The introduction of these new culinary ideas created an eruption in recipe manuscripts, many of which still exist in private cookery archives. For the next few years, the rich families of Europe strove to offer the best banquets, and because of this the best cooks and their collection of recipes became highly prized. However, it wasn`t until the 19th century that haute cuisine and recipe collections became really popular. The Famous Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Farmer in the US, devoted much of their lives to assembling, verifying, and recording recipes that were common in the better off homes of the day. By the advent of the twentieth century, cooking publications are greatly in demand due to higher levels of literacy, people having more leisure time and disposable income. The introduction of the TV brought us TV chefs and the spin-off recipe books. And that brings us to the present day and the internet revolution, allowing everyone to access massive numbers of recipes just like those on this web site. |
We hope you enjoy this B'stila (Moroccan Chicken_Nut Pie) recipe.
