Bstila

Moroccan Chicken/nut Pie. Brown almonds in a little oil until golden. Chop coarsely or pound with a mortar and pestle. Add cinnamon and (optionally) honey or sugar to sweeten to taste. Set aside. Heat clarified butter and butter in a large heavy pot. Add on and saute for a few minutes. Add chicken meat, along with pepper, saffron, cinnamon, parsley, cilantro and salt. Slowly stir eggs into the sauce. Remove from heat. Have ready phillo 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. Construct a pie by layering the phyllo 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. ydd another sheet, at an angle to the first, and repeat so that you have phillo covering the bottom of the pan and dangling out all around. Use about 5 sheets to form this layer. Repeat the process, forming another layer. 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 phillo, then fold the dangling ends over the top so as to close the envelope. Brush the top with butter. 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.