Moroccan Chicken & Egg Pie (Bisteeya/B'stilla)
- 2 lbs skinless chicken pieces
- 3 -4 medium garlic cloves, crushed
- 12 teaspoon salt
- 12 teaspoon pepper
- 2 12 cups water
- 14 cup sweet unsalted butter
- 12 cup parsley, finely chopped
- 12 onion, grated
- 1 pinch saffron
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 12 teaspoon coriander
- 12 teaspoon salt
- 12 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 14 teaspoon turmeric
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 14 cup lemon juice
- 6 -8 eggs
- 14 cup sweet unsalted butter
- 18 sheets phyllo dough (1 sleeve in a package is enough)
- Rinse the chicken & remove any fat.
- Crush the garlic & mix with the salt & pepper.
- Cover the chicken with the mixture & let marinate for 30 minutes.
- Place the chicken in a large pot.
- Add the water, butter, parsley, onion, cinnamon sticks, & spices to the pan.
- Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, & simmer for 1 hour.
- Remove the chicken, cinnamon sticks, & any loose bones from the pan & set aside.
- Boil the sauce rapidly, uncovered, until it is reduced to 1 1/2 cups, then add the lemon juice.
- Lower the heat until the sauce is simmering.
- Beat the eggs until they are frothy & then add to the sauce.
- Stir continuously until the eggs are cooked.
- (They should become curdy, stiff, & dry.)
- Taste for salt & set aside.
- Remove all the bones from the chicken.
- Then shred into 1 inch pieces.
- Note: All the steps done until now can be prepared in advanced, even the day before.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Thaw the phyllo dough for use later.
- Heat 1/4 cup sweet butter until melted.
- When the foam subsides, clarify it by pouring the clear liquid butter into a small bowl & discard the milky solids.
- Unroll the dough, keeping it under a damp towel to prevent it from drying out.
- Fold 4 leaves in half & bake in the oven until crisp but not too brown, set aside.
- Brush some of the clarified butter on the bottom & sides of a 9x13 cake pan.
- Cover the bottom of the pan with 2 pastry leaves.
- Arrange 6 more leaves so that they cover half the bottom of the pan & half extend over the sides.
- (The entire bottom of the pan should be covered.)
- Brush the extended leaves with butter so they do not dry out.
- Scatter pieces of chicken on the bottom of the pan so there is a thin layer.
- Layer some of the well-drained egg mixture on top of the chicken.
- Place the 4 crisp leaves on top of the egg layer.
- Add another thin layer of chicken & then a thin layer of eggs (using all that is left).
- Cover the layers with all but 2 of the remaining phyllo leaves, brushing each one very lightly with butter.
- Fold the extended leaves over the top cover of the pie & brush lightly with butter.
- Put the remaining 2 leaves on top, lightly brush with butter, & fold these neatly under the pie (like tucking in sheets).
- Brush the entire pie again with butter.
- Bake the pie in the oven for 20 minutes (the top leaves will be golden brown).
- Shake the pan to loosen the pie.
- Invert the pie onto a large, buttered baking sheet.
- Brush top of the pie (which used to be the bottom) with more butter & return to the oven.
- Continue to bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Place a large serving plate over the pie, hold firmly & invert so the pie is on the plate.
- Serve hot -- .
chicken, garlic, salt, pepper, water, sweet unsalted butter, parsley, onion, saffron, ginger, coriander, salt, ground black pepper, turmeric, cinnamon sticks, lemon juice, eggs, sweet unsalted butter, phyllo
Taken from www.food.com/recipe/moroccan-chicken-egg-pie-bisteeya-bstilla-263156 (may not work)