Algerian Pastilla Beestiya |
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Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 30 Minutes |
Ready In: 30 Minutes Servings: 68 |
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Traditionally pastillas are huge labor intensive concoctions. Scaling down the size of pastilla doesn't take a single bit away from it's flavor, but reduces preparation time and effort considerably. If pastilla sounds like bastila to you, that is because that's exactly what it is. Read more . As usual, Algerians have a variety of pastilla preparations. If the name sounds Spanish too, well that's because it is a Spanish name. There is an antecedent to this dish in the anonymous thirteenth century Hispano-Muslim Cookbook which describes chicken wrapped in many paper thin sheets of dough. I do have a copy of the anonymous cookbook, but I did not make the connection until I read about it in Clifford Wright's A Mediterranean Feast. Ingredients:
ingredients |
6 warka leaves |
6 feuilles de dioul (brick) |
2 whole chicken legs (drumsticks and thighs) |
2 cuisses de poulet |
1 onion chopped |
1 oignon hache |
2 cloves of garlic, minced |
2 gousses d'ail emincees |
a few sprigs of coriander leaf |
coriandre frais |
a pinch of saffron |
1 pincee de safran |
1 teaspoon of turmeric |
1 cuillere a cafe de curcuma |
salt |
sel |
juice of 1/2 lemon |
jus de citron |
5-6 large eggs |
5-6 oeufs |
1 cup of chopped almonds |
200 gr d'amandes hachees |
1 tablespoon of rose water |
1 cuillere a soup d'eau de rose |
2 tablespoons of sugar |
2 cuilleres a soupe de sucre |
1 stick of butter, clarified |
115 gr beurre clarifie |
Directions:
1. Method:
2. 1) Cook the chicken in a pot with the onion, garlic, saffron, turmeric, coriander leaf, about 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 cup of water, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for about an hour.
3. 2) Remove the chicken, let cool enough to handle. Bone and mince the meat. Taste for seasoning, adjust if necessary.
4. 3) Reduce the liquid the chicken cooked in to about 1 cup. Add lemon juice and gently beaten eggs. Stir constantly until the eggs are cooked. Place the eggs in a sieve to drain excess liquid and fat. Taste for seasoning, adjust if necessary.
5. 4) Add the sugar and rose water to the chopped almonds, mix well.
6. 5) Add two tablespoons of butter to the a 10 frying pan. Place 2 sheets of warka in the center. Place four more warka sheets as shown. Actually two are shown, complete by adding two more on the other side.
7. 6) The first layer of filling is the almonds, spread 1/3 of the mixture into the pan. Add 1 layer of 1/3 of the eggs, then a layer of 1/3 of the chicken. Repeat.
8. 7) Butter the warka sheets with the remaining butter and fold over the warka as shown. It may seem like alot of butter but this dish serves 6-8 people depending on the number of courses.
9. 8) Fry on low heat until golden brown. You can check by inverting the pastilla onto your hand. That's how I transfered it to a slightly larger pan to brown the other side. This should take about 15 minutes on each side, but can vary depending on the thickness of your pan and heat source. Watch it carefully to avoid burning.
10. /2005/09/algerian_pastil.html#more
11. Step by step photos in the link. Eventhough I've simplified the cooking method considerably, it is still a moderately difficult dish to prepare. Look at the photos and recipes carefully before beginning.
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