Some Cookery Inspiration

Salamwalikoum,
Long time no blog for me.... My work schedule got all flipped around again and finding time for blogging seems to be getting harder... And the fact that Ramadan seems to be kicking my bum this year isn't helping... fasting in this heat has been tough. But I have to say I am proud of myself for sticking it out.
Anyhoo I thought I would give a sign of life today and share a website that I regularly peruse for my own amusement.It's called Project Gutenberg. Now I know many people probably already know about this site, it's been around for a while, but for those not in the know here is the scoop. This site is a repository of copyright free books from allover the world in several languages.

It's a huge mix of every kind of book out there, but my favorite section that I find the most amusing (weirdo that I am) is the cookery section. This part of the website contains cook books that even date back to the Roman empire. Some of the books that I find the most useful are the ones that were printed around the 1st World War. These books contain tons of recipes that will fill you up on the cheap and keep you going.

So there is my contribution to blogland for the day. Hope you guys find the website as entertaining as I do. Have fun.

Morroccan recipe... Chicken Pastilla

Salamwalikoum,

Wow! long time no blog....It's been a very long time since my last post. As they say, time flys when your running around like a crazy fool having fun  ... So anyhoo, in all the excitement of my dad's birthday party last weekend I forgot to post my next recipe. So today I will be showing you how to make chicken pastilla.

This recipe is a traditional morrocan dish that is made during special occasions like weddings. It's a bit more time consuming than most of the other wedding dishes but I personally think it is probably the yummiest I have tried so far.

Ok so let's get down to business.
Ingredients:
1 whole Chicken
2 onions chopped
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1tsp salt
saffron
sprig fresh cilantro
toasted almonds
sugar (yes, you read that right)
phyllo dough
powder sugar
5-4 eggs

Directions:
In a large stock pot, boil the chicken with the spices and the onions until thoroughly cooked.

Remove the chicken from the pot and let cool.

Once the chicken is cooled, de-boned and shredded- set aside.

Now strain the solids from the sauce, like so:

Once the sauce is separated return the broth to the pot and boil until it's reduced enough to get thicker and richer.

With the onion add the eggs and cook like scrambled eggs.

Set aside the egg mixture and the reduced sauce.

The last thing left to prepare before assembling the pastilla is the almond mixture.

In a food processor combine the toasted almonds with a bit of cinnamon and powdered sugar. This is really to taste depending on each cooks' preference.

Chop coarsely.

Now that all these steps are done, here comes the easy part!

To assemble simply layer 

sheet of phyllo

almonds

phyllo

chicken and a bit of sauce

phyllo

eggs

phyllo

almonds

and finally more phyllo dough to make the surface smooth.

I made my pastillas into little packages, but they can also be layered like you would lasagna in a dish.

Just before baking in the oven brush the tops with a bit of egg yolk.

Bake in the oven at 350F until the pastry is golden and crispy.

Just before serving sprinkle with a bit of cinnamon and powdered sugar. And enjoy!

Now as I do with almost all of my recipes.... I forgot to take a picture of the final product... I guess I'm still getting into the habit of having to pause and take a picture every step of the way.

I will eventually wrap my head around the concept and get some pics for you guys. In the mean time, bon appetit!

Until next time

Rebecca