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Pastilla (Chicken Pie)

Name: Pastilla (Chicken Pie)
Total time: 60 min
Yield: Serves 2
Cuisine: Morocco
Ingredients: 200g Chicken thigh; 8 Spring roll wrappers; 50g Almonds, chopped; 1/2 Onion; 2 Egg; 1 tsp Cinnamon powder; 2 tbsp Powdered sugar; 3 tbsp Butter, melted

Main Dish

⏱ 60 min

👥 Serves 2

Difficulty ⭐⭐⭐

Chicken, almonds, and cinnamon wrapped in paper-thin pastry — a royal dish where sweet meets savory.

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📖 The Story Behind This Dish

Believed to reflect Andalusian influence, this distinctive royal-court dish balances sweetness and savoriness. Chicken and almond filling is wrapped in extremely thin pastry (warqa) and baked, then finished with a dusting of powdered sugar and cinnamon. It's the centerpiece dish for weddings and other special celebrations.

🌆 Where it's eaten: A wedding in Fez: cheers go up as the large pastilla is carried in on a platter, the white sugar and dark cinnamon crisscrossed on top a beautiful sight.

🥕 Ingredients (serves 2)

Chicken thigh 200g
Spring roll wrappers 8
Almonds, chopped 50g
Onion 1/2
Egg 2
Cinnamon powder 1 tsp
Powdered sugar 2 tbsp
Butter, melted 3 tbsp

👩‍🍳 Instructions

Simmer the chicken with the onion, then shred; reserve the cooking liquid.
Whisk eggs into the reserved liquid and cook gently over low heat into soft curds.
Toast the almonds lightly and chop.
Brush a baking dish with melted butter, layer the wrappers, and fill with the chicken, egg curds, and almonds, wrapping to enclose.
Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 20 minutes until golden.
Dust with a lattice pattern of powdered sugar and cinnamon to finish.

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