Bisteeya (Morocco) Pt 1 Recipe

• 6 x Squab pigeons, or possibly 5 pounds chicken legs and thighs
• 5 x Cloves garlic, peeled Salt
• 1 c. Minced parsley, mixed with a little minced fresh green coriander
• 1 x Spanish onion, grated
• 1 pch Pulverized saffron
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric
• 1 tsp Freshly grnd black pepper
• 1 tsp Grnd ginger
• 3 x Cinnamon sticks
• 1 c. Butter
• 1/4 c. Salad oil
• 1 lb Whole, blanched almonds Confectioners' sugar Grnd cinnamon
• 1/4 c. Lemon juice
• 10 x Large eggs
• 1/2 lb Phyllo pastry or possibly strudel leaves, or possibly 40 warka leaves (up to 3/4)

1. This is my absolute favorite recipe, but it's rather involved (for me anyway hehe) I do not make it nearly as often as I would like to eat it -) I always use chicken as I do not have any pigeons handy, and I've never been able to find saffron and even if I could I understand it'd cost my kids' college tuition to pay for it.
2. I also always use the phyllo, as it's readily available.
3. I got the recipe from "Couscous and other Good Food from Morocco" by Paula Wolfert.
4. (That by the way is a wonderfully informative book if you're at all interested in Morroccan customs etc.)
5. 1.
6. Wash the poultry well and pull out as much fat as possible from the cavities.
7. Crush the garlic and make a paste of it with 2 Tbsp.
8. salt.
9. Rub the poultry with the paste, then rinse well and drain.
10. Put the squabs or possibly chickens in a 5 1/2 qt casserole with the giblets, herbs, onion, spices, half the butter, a little salt, and 3 c. water.
11. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour.
12. 2.
13. Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in the skillet and brown the almonds lightly.
14. Drain on paper towels.
15. When cold, crush them with a rolling pin till coarsely grnd, or possibly run them through a nut grinder.
16. Combine the almonds with 1/2 c. confectioners' sugar and 2 tsp.
17. grnd cinnamon.
18. Set aside.
19. 3.
20. Remove the poultry, giblets, cinnamon sticks, and any loose bones from the casserole and set aside.
21. By boiling rapidly, uncovered, reduce the sauce in the casserole to approximately 1 3/4 c., then add in the lemon juice.
22. Beat the Large eggs till frothy, then pour into the simmering sauce and stir continuously till the Large eggs cook and congeal.
23. (They should become curdy, stiff, and dry.)
24. Taste for salt and set aside.
25. 4.
26. Remove all the bones from the squabs or possibly chickens.
27. Shred the poultry into 1 1/2 inch pcs and chop the giblets coarsely.
28. 5.
29. Heat the remaining butter.
30. When the foam subsides, clarify it by pouring off the clear liquid butter into a small bowl and discarding the milky solids.
31. Up to this point the dish can be prepared in advance, even the day before.
32. 6.
33. Preheat the oven to 425
34. 7.Unroll the pastry leaves, keeping them under a damp towel to prevent them from drying out.
35. Brush some of the clarified butter over the bottom and sides of a 13 inch cake pan, or possibly pizza pan, or possibly paella pan, then cover the bottom of the pan with a pastry leaf.
36. Arrange 6 more leaves so which they half cover the bottom of the pan and half extend over the sides.
37. (The entire bottom of the pan should be covered.)
38. Brush the extended leaves with butter so they don't dry out.
39. (If you are using warka, arrange about 15 to 18 leaves around the bottom and sides; there is no need to butter extended leaves)
40. 8.
41. Fold 4 leaves in half and bake in the oven for 30 seconds, or possibly till crisp but not too browned, or possibly fry the leaves on an oiled skillet.
42. (this is unnecessary if using warka.)
43. 9.
44. Place chunks of poultry and giblets around the inner edges of the pan, then work toward the center so which the pastry is covered with a layer of shredded poultry.
45. Cover this layer with the well-liquid removed egg mix from step 3, and the four baked or possibly fried pastry leaves.
46. 10.
47. Sprinkle the almond-sugar mix over the pastry.
48. Cover with all but 2 of the remaining pastry leaves, brushing each very lightly with butter.
49. 11.Fold the overlapping leaves in over the top to cover the pie.
50. Brush lightly with butter.
51. Put the remaining 2 leaves over the top, lightly buttering each, and fold these neatly under the pie (like
52. continued in part 2

pigeons, garlic, parsley, spanish onion, saffron, turmeric, freshly grnd black pepper, ginger, cinnamon sticks, butter, salad oil, sugar, lemon juice, eggs, pastry

Taken from cookeatshare.com/recipes/bisteeya-morocco-pt-1-84936 (may not work)