Pastilla

Several years ago, my son T had a friend who would bring his father's homemade Pastilla when he came to visit. It was always devoured shortly upon arrival. Yousef was the sweetest thing, and his dad was an awesome cook. I stuck my foot in my mouth one day and said it must not be hard to make, because he brought it to us so often. Little did I know.

Unfortunately, Yousef doesn't visit anymore, so I have to go to Mataam Fez restaurant when I want it. The place is great, authentic decor, superb service and belly dancers, but hubby can only stand so much of it.

Pastilla is a wonderful pie made with phyllo dough, seasoned chicken, eggs, crushed almonds and topped with powdered sugar. A sweet savory delight that is eaten direct from the plate with your fingers, if eaten traditionally. My first Pastilla had far less sugar than the one served at Mataam Fez. Hubby didn't like the sugar, so mine was made with just a light dusting. Making the pie became easier than finding the right recipe for it.

Since I thoroughly enjoyed his father's version, I called Yousef and asked for his recipe. He was able to give me this
link. Not exactly the same but very close. I suspect his dad is still angry with me for making light of the process.

I didn't like the Spanakopita style of wrapping, so I asked my friend Stephanie of Chef Tess Bakeresse for a recipe. She gave me this link.

It sounded absolutely wonderful, but again very time consuming. I went to YouTube to view a few demos of how to layer the pie, because I really wanted one big pie made in my cast iron pan. There are oodles and oodles of videos, so after watching a few of them, I believed I had if figured out.

This is the recipe I used in the end, because it was less labor intensive. Their photo is "prettier" too!

Moroccan Lemon Chicken

A few months back, I flipped through Bon Appetit when I came across a recipe for the most awesome flavorful chicken I have had in a long time. Hubby decided to give it a try and lo and behold the whole family loved it. The olives really make the dish.

Moroccan Lemon Chicken
adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine

2 lemons

8 pieces of chicken (we prefer thighs)

Salt

Pepper

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp ground ginger

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup Spanish Olives (we use Garlic and/or Jalapeno stuffed, sometimes Kalamata)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 large onion halved and thinly sliced


Wedge one lemon. Juice 2 tsp from other lemon. Put 2 tsp olive oil on medium high heat, saute onions. Salt and pepper to taste. Add next 5 ingredients. Bring just to a boil. Add chicken, reduce to medium low heat. Cover and cook 25-35 min or til cooked through. Remove chicken to platter. Add 2 tsp lemon juice, cup of olives and wedged lemons to sauce, bring up to high heat. Let thicken 5-10 minutes. Pour over chicken and serve.