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Marlene van der Westhuizen

BASTILLA

INGREDIENTS

DINNER, SERVES 8

  • 100g butter
  • 2 brown onions, chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1.5kg free-range chicken, cut into portions
  • 5ml freshly ground black pepper
  • 5ml white pepper
  • 5ml ground ginger
  • 5ml ground cumin
  • 5ml toasted coriander seeds
  • 1.25ml chilli powder
  • 5ml turmeric
  • 6 cardamom pods, lightly toasted, deseeded and ground
  • 5ml saffron threads, soaked in a little hot water
  • a handful fresh coriander, chopped
  • a handful fresh parsley, chopped
  • 500ml chicken stock
  • 30ml castor sugar
  • 10ml ground cinnamon
  • 300g flaked almonds, lightly roasted
  • 75g pine nuts, lightly roasted
  • 13 sheets phyllo pastry
  • 30ml good olive oil
  • icing sugar for dusting

INSTRUCTIONS

1

Melt the butter in a large casserole dish and gently fry the onions in the butter until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, chicken, black pepper, white pepper, ginger, cumin, coriander seeds, chilli, turmeric, cardamom, saffron, fresh coriander leaves and parsley. Top up with the chicken stock and bring to a slow simmer, covered, for about 1 hour or until the chicken is tender.
2

Remove the chicken from the casserole dish, allow to cool slightly before deboning and shredding the meat.
3

Meanwhile, reduce the juices until deliciously fragrant and saucy. Combine the shredded chicken with the sauce.
4

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Grease a large springform cake tin
5

Combine the castor sugar, cinnamon and almonds with the pine nuts in a bowl. Lightly brush a sheet of phyllo with olive oil, top with a second sheet and place in the cake tin to just cover the sides and base. Repeat this 5 times, arranging each double layer at a slight angle to form a fan-like pattern. Scatter half of the nut mixture over the last layer of phyllo, fill with the chicken mixture and scatter over the remaining nut mixture.
6

Place the last sheet of phyllo over the top of the filling, snuggly tucking the ends down the sides. Fold the overhanging pastry from the outside over the filled pastry, covering the filling completely. Brush the top of the bastilla lightly with olive oil and bake for about 30 minutes or until golden.
7

Turn the heat down to 180°C, cover the pie with baking paper and bake for another 5–10 minutes to make sure that the sides and base are properly browned
8

Dust the bastilla with icing sugar and serve warm. If you like, you could heat a doublepronged fork in a flame and burn the icing sugar slightly for a pretty effect.