Pastilla (Moroccan Sweet and Savory Chicken Pie)

Morocco • Regional Dish • Dessert

Pastilla (Moroccan Sweet and Savory Chicken Pie)

A celebratory Moroccan pastry pie layered with spiced chicken, sweet almonds, and crisp flaky pastry, finished with a light dusting of sugar and cinnamon.

Servings8
Prep Time40 min
Cook Time70 min
DifficultyAdvanced
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Instructions

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chicken, onions, garlic, salt, ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, black pepper, and saffron if using. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring the onions around the chicken until they begin to soften.
  2. Pour in the water, cover, and simmer over low heat for 35 to 40 minutes, turning the chicken once, until it is fully cooked and tender.
  3. Transfer the chicken to a plate and let it cool slightly. Keep the onion mixture in the pan over low heat.
  4. Stir the beaten eggs into the onion mixture and cook gently, stirring often, until the eggs thicken into the onions and the mixture looks rich and almost jammy, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
  5. Pull the chicken from the bones and shred it finely. Discard the skin and bones, then mix the shredded chicken back into the onion-and-egg mixture.
  6. Toast the almonds in a dry pan over medium-low heat for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring often, until lightly golden. Let them cool, then pulse or chop them finely. Mix with the 2 tbsp icing sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, and orange blossom water if using.
  7. Brush a 23 cm round pie dish or ovenproof skillet with a little melted butter. Layer 7 sheets of phyllo into the dish one at a time, brushing each lightly with butter and letting the edges hang over the sides.
  8. Spread the chicken filling evenly over the base. Scatter the almond mixture over the top. Cover with the remaining 3 phyllo sheets, brushing each with butter.
  9. Fold the overhanging pastry up and over to enclose the filling. Brush the top well with the remaining butter.
  10. Bake at 190°C for 25 to 30 minutes, until deep golden and crisp.
  11. Let the pastilla rest for 5 minutes. Dust lightly with extra icing sugar and cinnamon, then serve warm.

Cultural Context

Pastilla, also written bastilla or b’stilla, is a classic Moroccan celebratory pie known for its sweet-savory balance. Traditional versions were made with warqa, a paper-thin pastry, and often filled with pigeon, though chicken versions are now common. A classic filling structure includes spiced meat, an egg-enriched onion layer, and almonds scented with sugar and cinnamon.

Fun Fact

The top of a traditional pastilla is often dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon in decorative lines or lattice patterns. It looks like dessert for a second, then the savory filling shows up and politely destroys your assumptions.

Cook’s Tip

Traditional pastilla was made with warqa pastry and often with pigeon. Chicken is the more practical home-cook version, and phyllo is the easiest, widely available substitute for warqa while still giving you the right crisp layered effect. The sweet-savory contrast matters here. Pastilla is not meant to be eaten like a plain chicken pie in fancy dress. The lightly sweet almond layer and the sugar-cinnamon finish are part of the classic character, so keep them restrained, but do not skip them unless you are deliberately making a simplified variation.

Trivia

Warqa is the classic Moroccan pastry for pastilla, but many home cooks outside Morocco use phyllo because it’s easier to find and yields a similar, crisp, layered result.

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