Chicken Bastilla

Of all the Moroccan foods I've tried, this recipe is my favorite. I will admit I really was surprised. I thought the combination sounded crazy. Chicken with cinnamon, scrambled egg mixture, almonds and all topped with powdered sugar? It couldn't possibly be good, right? Not only did I love it, my whole family loved it. My son said it is one of his all time favorite foods. There are a lot of steps to this recipe and it does take awhile to make but it really is worth it. I recommend going to the link listed below the recipe to the source since Cooking with Alia has a video. Watch the video before making this recipe. Oh, it is so good!

Moroccan Chicken Bastilla
Chicken filling:
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 large onions, finely chopped
1 cup parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
pinch of saffron
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 lbs. chicken breast
2 cups chicken broth

Egg filling:
6 large eggs

Almond filling:
10 oz. blanch almonds
4 oz. powdered sugar
2 Tbsp water
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
vegetable oil for frying

Dough ingredients:
1 package of phyllo dough
8 Tbsp butter, melted
1 egg yolk

Directions:

1. In a large pot, heat the oil over high heat.
2. Add the onions, parsley, ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, saffron, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
3. Add the chicken breast and mix. Cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes.
4. Add the chicken broth and allow the mixture to cook.
5. Cover and allow the chicken to cook for 20 minutes. 
6. Remove the chicken from the mixture. Place the chicken onto a plate and allow to cool. 
7. Once cooled, shred the chicken into small pieces. Set aside.
8. Lower the heat to low.
9. Add the 6 eggs to the mixture in the pot. Mix well. 
10. Allow the mixture to cook 10 minutes. Stir often. Once the liquid has evaporated, remove from the pot and place in a bowl to cool. Set aside.
11. In a large skillet, add oil. Heat over medium heat.
12. Add the almonds and fry until golden brown. 
13. Remove the excess oil from the almonds. 
14. Add one Tbsp of the almond oil to the shredded chicken. Mix well. Set aside. 
15. Into a food processor, add the almonds, powdered sugar, cinnamon, and water. Pulse until the almonds are crushed. Set aside.
16. Brush a deep pie pan with melted butter. 
17. Carefully, fold 3 pieces of phylllo dough into half. Place onto the bottom of the pie pan. Brush with melted butter.
18. Hold another 3 pieces of phyllo dough in half. Place the folded piece on the side of the pan with 1/3 of the length draped over the edge of the pan. The phyllo dough should be overlapping the bottom layer. Brush with the melted butter. 
19. Continue to drape the sides of the pan with the halved phyllo dough. Brush with the melted butter.
20. Spread the egg mixture into the middle of the pan.
21. Cover the egg mixture with two layers of the phyllo dough. Brush with melted butter. 
22. Add the shredded chicken into the middle of the pan. Cover with two layers of the phyllo dough. Brush with the melted butter.
23. Add the almond mixture into the middle of the pan. Cover with two layers of the phyllo dough. Brush with the melted butter. 
24. Carefully, fold the draped phyllo dough over the almond mixture. Brush with melted butter. 
25. Any remaining phyllo dough should be draped over the top of the dish. Tuck any sides inside the pan. Brush with melted butter. 
26. Brush the top of the phyllo dough with the egg yolk.  
27. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
28. Bake the 20 to 30 minute or until golden brown.
29. Remove from oven and decorate the top of the bastilla with sifted powdered sugar and cinnamon.
30. Serve immediately.

Recipe adapted by Cooking with Alia.

One year ago...............................I made Blueberry Muffins.
Two years ago.............................I made Berry Tea.
Three years ago...........................I made Steak and Ale Pie.

Did you already know..............................
-The Arabs introduced Moroccans to meat infused with spices and wrapped in a pastry.
-Chicken Bastilla is a traditional Moroccan chicken pie.
-Chicken Bastilla was initial made with fledgling pigeons.

Moroccan cookie butter

I have not tried cookie butter. I've seen many posts about how wonderful cookie butter taste. I know it is rich and decadence. I am going to have buy some and compare it with this recipe. Since this cookie butter is served with dates, I figured I would just serve it in the dates. This way I could more likely get the kids to eat dates. The kids liked this recipe but they told me they would rather have cookies than cookie butter.

Taknetta (Moroccan cookie butter)
1 cup vegetable oil
1 2/3 cup all purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup roasted sesame seeds
1/2 cup almonds, roasted and chopped
prunes

Directions:

1. In a large pot, heat the oil over low heat. 
2. Add the flour and mix well. 
3. Cook the flour and continue to stir for 30 minutes.
4. Add the sugar and continue to stir for another 15 minutes.
5. Once the mixture become thick like a paste, remove from the heat.
6. Stir in the sesame seeds and the almonds.
7. Pour the mixture onto a plate. 
8. Allow to cool before serving or stuffing the prunes.

Recipe adapted from Cooking with Alia. 

One year ago..................................I made Nutella Chocolate Zucchini Bread.
Two years ago...............................I made Double Roasted Chicken.
Three years ago.............................I made Peacharine Cream Cheese Tart.

Did you already know..............
-Sesame seeds are mentioned on ancient Egyptian scrolls.
-Sesame seeds come in off white, brown, and black.
-One of the oldest recorded seasonings is the sesame seed.

Moroccan Zaalouk

Recently, I was having some computer issues which hopefully have been resolved. I have been making a lot of dishes which I've already blogged like: berry cobbler, creamed spinach, and snickerdoodle cookies. I have been trying some new recipes too. Yes, I have a few more Moroccan recipes. As my oldest daughter said to me, "You really do like Moroccan food, huh." Don't worry this week will be the last of the Moroccan foods for awhile. I'm moving onto making some Japanese food in a couple of weeks. Back to my Moroccan food expedition, I made some zaalouk which is a tomato and eggplant dip. I really liked this recipe. My children liked it. My husband hesitantly tried it and he even liked it. He will tell you that you can't even taste the eggplant. If you are going onto your own Moroccan food expedition, you should make this recipe. I will say this is my second favorite Moroccan recipe. My favorite recipe I will be posting later.

Zaalouk (Eggplant and Tomato dip)
1 large eggplant
4 large ripe tomato (chopped and seeded)
3 clove of garlic, minced
1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp salt
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup water
1 small wedge of lemon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. 
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Cut the eggplant in half. Place the eggplant onto the parchment paper.
4. Roast the eggplant for 30 minutes.
5. Remove the eggplant from the skin.
6. Add the eggplant to the chopped tomatoes and mash.
7. In a medium pan, heat the eggplant, tomato, olive oil, garlic, paprika, cumin, salt, and cayenne.
8. Heat the mixture for 10 minutes while stirring and mashing the mixture. 
9. Squeeze the eggplant with a slice of the lemon.
10. Continue to stir and mash for another 5 minutes. 
11. Remove from the heat and serve either hot or cold.
12. Serve with some Moroccan bread. 

Recipe adapted from About.com

Two years ago.......................I made Italian Omelet.
Three years ago.....................I made English pancakes. 

Did you already know.................
-Eggplant is actually a fruit.
-Eggplants are related to tomatoes.
-Another name for eggplant is aubergine.

Ksra

Since I'm still on the Moroccan theme, I made some Moroccan Ksra. I'm going to start with saying my husband loved, loved, loved this bread. I served it warm right from the oven. I thought this yeast bread was very easy to make. It took about an hour from when I started to make it and when I served it. I always like homemade bread so I think this is a nice addition to my repertoire of breads. I did substitute the aniseed for fennel seed. I couldn't foresee a large demand of recipe to use aniseed in the future.

Moroccan Ksra
7 oz. warm water (110 degrees F)
1 package (1/4 oz.) dry yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
2 1/4 cups white bread flour, a little additional for the surface
3/4 cups semolina flour
1 tsp fennel seed
1 1/2 tsp salt
olive oil, for brushing
sesame seeds, for sprinkling

Directions:

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a large cup, combine the warm water with the yeast and sugar. Allow to proof for 5 minutes.
3. Combine the bread flour, semolina flour, fennel seed, and salt.
4. Add the water yeast mixture to the flour. 
5. Mix until the dough comes together and forms a ball.  
6. Half the dough and place the dough onto a lightly floured surface.
7. Shape the two halves into flatten thick discs.
8. Place the discs onto the two baking sheets. 
9. Cover the two discs with plastic wrap which had been oiled with nonstick baking spray.
10. Allow the dough to rise for 30 minutes.
11. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
12. Brush each discs with olive oil and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.
13. Bake the discs for 20 minutes or until the bread is golden and sound hollow when tapped underneath.

Recipe adapted from The Bread and Bread Machine Bible cookbook.

One year ago...................................................I made Blueberry Galette.
Two years ago.................................................I made Chewy Brownies.
Three years ago...............................................I made Apple-Cinnamon Loaves.

Did you already know......................................
-Ksra bread is usually served at midday.
-It is similar to the Indian Naan bread.
-Ksra is sold by street venders in Morocco.