A savory, sweet dish that's an iconic dish of Morocco, this chicken pie, known as chicken bastila (or bastilla, pastilla, or pastila), covers a fragrant filling of chicken, eggs, nuts, onions, and dried fruit with a crispy topping of thin Moroccan pastry. In this version, phyllo dough fills that role and the result is a show-stopping main course that will not soon be forgotten. Using some shortcuts, it also can find its way to your table in a fraction of the time required for the traditional version while still hitting all the highlights of the original.
While the wide range of ingredients in this version create the complex and clever dish you bring to the table, a few changes and substitutions can be made. If you do not have almonds, pistachio nuts can be used instead. Any number of dried fruits - including using a variety - will work in this dish if you do not happen to have apricots on hand. You can cook chicken for the dish, but I like using cooked chopped chicken to help keep the prep time for the dish shorter. Keep the onions, eggs, and phyllo dough crust consistent for this dish … they bring a lot to the table.
I like serving this pie with a slaw of coarsely shredded vegetables and a sweet and tangy dressing. The combination of flavors in the pie and flavors in the slaw play well together and bring a lot of texture to your plate. It's a great meal to enjoy as we move from winter to spring.
Moroccan Chicken Pie
- 5 tablespoons (75ml) extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 cup dried apricots, chopped
- 1 cup sliced almonds, toasted
- 2 tablespoons honey, plus more to taste
- 3 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, plus more if needed
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup chicken stock
- 4 cups chopped cooked chicken
- 4 eggs, beaten with a fork
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 4 large sheets phyllo pastry (9 by 14 inches), thawed if frozen
- Coarsely torn fresh cilantro - for serving
In a 12-inch high-sided stainless-steel or cast-iron skillet, heat ¼ cup oil over medium-low heat until shimmering. Add the onions and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft and translucent, 7 to 10 minutes.
Add the cilantro, apricots, almonds, honey, garlic, turmeric, ginger, cumin, cinnamon, salt, and pepper; cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Add the stock and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the stock turns into a thick and glossy sauce, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the chicken and stir to combine with the onions and spices until well coated. Season to taste with salt and honey, if needed.
Meanwhile in a small skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil until shimmering. Add the eggs and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring gently with a wooden spoon, until the scrambled eggs are just set but still wet on top, 1 to 3 minutes.
Scatter the scrambled eggs evenly on top of the chicken and onion mixture in the skillet.
Working with 1 phyllo sheet at a time, lay a phyllo sheet flat on your work surface and brush with melted butter. Loosely scrunch up the buttered phyllo and place, buttered side up, on top of the filling. Repeat with the remaining phyllo sheets until the pie is fully covered with the crinkled phyllo pastry.
Bake until the filling is bubbly and hot and the pastry is golden on top, about 25 minutes. Serve hot and topped with torn cilantro.
- Yields: 4-6 servings
- Preparation Time: About an hour