Basteeya Moroccan Spiced Chicken Baked In Phylo Dough Food

MOROCCAN CHICKEN BASTEEYA

Steps:

• Heat oil in large, nonstick skillet set over medium-high heat; cook onion for about 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in garlic, ginger, hot pepper flakes and saffron; cook for about 2 minutes or until fragrant. Stir in chicken, chicken broth, apricots, olives, lemon juice, cinnamon stick, salt and pepper. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until liquid has evaporated. Let cool completely; discard cinnamon stick.
• Whisk together eggs, cilantro and parsley; stir into chicken mixture. Set aside. In food processor, combine almonds, icing sugar and cinnamon; pulse until finely chopped.
• Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Grease 9-inch (23 cm) deep dish pie plate. Brush 1 sheet of phyllo with butter (keep remaining phyllo covered with damp tea towel to prevent it from drying out); top with another sheet of phyllo. Repeat to make 4 layers. Place layered phyllo in centre of pie plate, pressing to fit. Scrape chicken filling over phyllo; fold corners toward centre of pie (phyllo should not cover filling completely).
• Drape sheet of phyllo over filling; brush with butter and sprinkle with some of the almond mixture. Repeat layers with remaining phyllo, butter and almond mixture. Carefully tuck edges into pie plate, under bottom layers of phyllo.
• Bake for about 30 minutes or until very golden brown. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting into wedges.

BASTEEYA - MOROCCAN SPICED CHICKEN BAKED IN PHYLO DOUGH

Steps:

• Brown the chicken pieces in a large pan. Do not burn the butter. Scatter the onions over the chicken and cook until wilted Add the garlic, tumeric, saffron, ginger, coriander, red pepper, parsley, peppercorns, cinnamon sticks and water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes or until the chicken is quite tender. Remove the meat from the bones and shred it. Reduce the liquid to 3/4 cup. For the filling, brown the almonds in the oil. Grind them in a food processor and blend with sugar and ground cinnamon. Whisk the eggs and lemon juice and 3/4 cup of reduced liquid. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter and scramble the egg mixture. Brush a large ovenproof pan and begin to layer the phylo. Make 10 layers brushing each with the melted butter as you layer them. Add half of the chicken shreds. Add the egg mixture leaving any liquid out. Add rest of shredded chicken and sprinkle all but 1/4 cup of the nut mixture. Dribble a little melted butter over all. Butter 4 more layers of phylo and use as a cover and bring the edges together to completely enclose the Basteeya. Butter 4 more phylo sheets and add to the top for more cover by folding them under the pie. Bake for 20 minutes at 475 degrees F. Brush melted butter on top. Cover with foil and bake another 20 minutes. To serve, turn upside down, sprinkle with remaining nut mixture and powdered sugar. You can bake for the first 20 minutes and then refrigerate. Then bake the last 20 minutes before serving.

MOROCCAN-SPICED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 450 degrees F. Toss the green beans and carrots with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon each ras el hanout and salt and a few grinds of pepper on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast on the upper rack until tender and lightly browned, adding the almonds halfway through, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken on both sides with the remaining 1 teaspoon ras el hanout and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add to the skillet; cook until browned, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to another rimmed baking sheet and roast on the lower oven rack until cooked through, about 10 minutes.
• Return the skillet to medium-high heat and add the shallot. Cook, stirring, until tender, about 1 minute. Stir in the chicken broth, scraping up any browned bits, then add the apricots, olives and harissa. Cook until the apricots soften and the broth is reduced by two-thirds, about 5 minutes; season with salt. Pour any accumulated juices from the chicken into the sauce.
• Slice the chicken and serve with the roasted vegetables. Spoon the sauce over the chicken.

BASTEEYA (MOROCCAN CHICKEN PIE)

Steps:

• Brush a large 10-inch pie plate with some melted butter (or margarine, if you need to keep this kosher) and set aside.
• In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil; saute the onions until soft (about 5 minutes), then add the garlic, chile, cinnamon stick, curry powder, fresh ginger, lemon zest and chicken chunks and saute for two minutes.
• Stir in the prunes, olives, chicken stock, lemon juice, and the salt and pepper; bring this to a boil.
• Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer, without stirring at all, for 10 minutes; then remove the lid and simmer for 5 more minutes, or until the liquid has evaporated; let this cool completely (I'm going to guess you discard the whole cinnamon stick, since it's not mentioned in the original recipe).
• Meanwhile, in a food processor (the mini one will work well), pulse the icing sugar, ground cinnamon and almonds until coarsely chopped.
• Preheat oven to 375F.
• When the chicken mixture has cooled completely, it's time to begin the assembly: on your work surface, arrange a sheet of phyllo (keep the remaining phyllo sheets under a damp tea towel) and brush it with some of the melted butter or olive oil.
• Lay this sheet of phyllo in the middle of the pie plate, letting the excess phyllo hang over the edge; repeat with 4 more sheets of phyllo.
• Stir the lightly beaten egg and chopped coriander into the chicken mixture, combine, then spoon the entire mixture into the pie plate, on top of the sheets of phyllo in it.
• Fold the phyllo edges that are hanging over the edge of the pie plate, one at a time, onto the middle of the pie, sprinkling some of the almond mixture between each layer; do this loosely and not tightly.
• Butter one piece of the remaining phyllo and sprinkle with some of the almond mixture; place over filling and tuck in any overhang; repeat with remaining phyllo and almond mixture--Christine Cushing says to do this one by one, not stacked together, to achieve a light, blossomy top.
• Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until the top is browned and crisp; let stand for 5 minutes before cutting into wedges to serve.

BISTEEYA OR MOROCCAN CHICKEN PIE

Steps:

• In a large skillet put 2 tablespoons butter, the chicken pieces, onions, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper,2 teaspoons cinnamon, the ginger, cumin, cayenne, saffron, turmeric and chicken stock.
• simmer gently, covered, until the chicken is cooked, 45 minutes.
• remove the chicken from the sauce and let it cool.
• remove all the bones and tear the chicken into 1 inch pieces.
• bring the liquid to a simmer and add the eggs stirring gently until the eggs are cooked and most of the liquid is evaporated, 4 to 5 minutes.
• add the chicken, cilantro, parsley, salt and pepper and mix well.
• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Toast the almonds in the oven until they are very lightly golden and hot to the touch, about 5 to 7 minutes.
• Coarsely chop them in a blender or food processor and mix with 3 tablespoons sugar and 3/4 teaspoons cinnamon.
• set aside and reserve the rest of the cinnamon sugar for a garnish.
• Melt the remaining 12 tablespoons butter. brush a 12 inch pie pan with the butter.
• place one sheet of phyllo dough on the bottom of the pie plate so that it completely covers the bottom of the plate and extends over one side by several inches.
• brush the whole sheet of phyllo lightly and continue with 7 more sheets moving in a pinwheel effect, brushing butter on each sheet.
• spread the chicken mixture on the phyllo and sprinkle with the almond mixture.
• Fold the overhanging phyllo up over the chicken and almonds and brush with butter.
• then continue adding 7 more sheets of phyllo to the pie as your did before.
• tuck all the overhanging edges under the pie and brush remaining butter over top of the pie.
• place in 375F oven and bake until golden brown and flaky, about 20 minutes.
• sprinkle the garnishing cinnamon and sugar over top.

MOROCCAN-STYLE CHICKEN PIE

Steps:

• For filling:
• Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Mix in cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, and saffron; stir 1 minute. Sprinkle flour over; stir 1 minute. Add broth; bring to simmer. Sprinkle chicken with salt; add to broth mixture. Gently simmer chicken uncovered until cooked through, reducing heat if necessary to prevent boiling, about 20 minutes. Stir in raisins. Set skillet aside until chicken is cool enough to handle.
• Transfer chicken to plate. Shred chicken coarsely and return to skillet. If sauce is thin, simmer over medium heat until sauce coats chicken thickly. Stir in cilantro and parsley. Season filling with salt and pepper. Cool filling completely. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover; chill.
• For phyllo:
• Finely grind almonds, powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, and cinnamon in mini processor.
• Stack 10 phyllo sheets on work surface. Invert 9-inch glass pie dish onto stack. Cut around dish through phyllo, making ten 10-inch rounds. Remove dish. Cover rounds with plastic wrap and damp kitchen towel.
• Brush same pie dish with melted butter. Place 1 phyllo round on work surface; brush with butter and sprinkle with scant 1 tablespoon almonds. Top with another phyllo round, brush with butter and sprinkle with scant 1 tablespoon almonds. Repeat stacking with 3 more phyllo rounds, butter, and almonds. Fit phyllo stack into prepared pie dish. Brush with butter. Spoon filling evenly over. Place 1 phyllo round on work surface. Brush with butter and sprinkle with scant 1 tablespoon almonds. Top with another phyllo round, brush with butter and sprinkle with scant 1 tablespoon almonds. Repeat with 2 phyllo rounds, butter, and almonds. Place stack atop filling; top with remaining phyllo round. Tuck in edges. Drizzle more butter over top. Cut 4 slits through top phyllo stack to allow steam to escape. DO AHEAD: Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover and chill.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Place pie on rimmed baking sheet. Bake uncovered until phyllo is golden and filling is heated through, about 40 minutes. Cool 15 minutes. Cut into wedges.

MOROCCAN-SPICED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place a rimmed baking sheet on the center rack of oven and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix spices, 2 teaspoons salt, 3/4 teaspoon pepper, and the oil in a small bowl. Rub spice paste all over chicken.
• Carefully arrange chicken in a single layer on hot sheet, and arrange lemon wedges around chicken. Bake until chicken registers 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer and juices run clear, 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and serve with pan juices and roasted lemon wedges on the side.