Individual Chicken Pastillas with Honey-Saffron Onion Confit and Orange Blossom Almonds

Method

1. Pat the chicken thoroughly dry. Heat the oil and a little of the butter in a 24 cm pot on medium-high heat and brown the chicken, skin side first, for 7 min, turning, until deep brown. That colour becomes the depth of the sauce. Set the chicken aside on a plate.

   Add in this stepBone-in, skin-on chicken thighs 500 gVegetable oil 1½ tbspButter 11 g

   medium-high heat

2. Add the sliced onions to the same pot and cook on medium heat for 12 min, scraping up the browned bits, until soft and light golden. Add the minced garlic, ginger, ras el hanout, half the cinnamon and the pepper and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant.

   Add in this stepOnions, thinly sliced 2Garlic cloves 2Ground ginger 1 tspRas el hanout 1 tspGround cinnamon ¾ tspBlack pepper ½ tsp

   medium heat

3. Return the chicken and add the stock, the saffron crumbled between your fingers and the salt. Cover and braise on medium-low heat for 35 min, until the meat comes away easily from the bone. Lift out the chicken, discard the skin and bones and shred the meat roughly.

   Add in this stepChicken stock 250 mlSaffron threads 1 pinchSalt 1 tsp

   medium-low heat

4. Stir the honey into the pot and reduce on medium-high heat for 10 min, stirring, until the onions look like a glossy jam and almost no liquid is left. Turn down to medium-low heat, pour in the beaten eggs and stir slowly for 3 min until set into moist curds. Mix in the chopped coriander and parsley and the shredded chicken, check the seasoning and let it cool completely.

   Add in this stepHoney 1½ tbspEggs 2Fresh coriander (cilantro) 10 gFlat-leaf parsley 10 g

   medium-high heat→medium-low heat

5. Melt a little butter in a small pan and fry the almonds on medium-low heat for 5 min, stirring, until evenly golden. Drain on kitchen paper, cool and chop coarsely, then mix in part of the icing sugar, part of the cinnamon and the orange blossom water.

   Add in this stepBlanched whole almonds 80 gButter 11 gIcing sugar 1¾ tbspGround cinnamon ½ tspOrange blossom water 1 tsp

   medium-low heat

6. Heat the oven to 200 °C and melt the remaining butter. Brush one filo sheet with butter, lay a second across it to make a cross and brush again (4 sheets per parcel). Put a spoonful of almonds in the middle, shape the chicken filling on top into a 14 cm disc and add a few more almonds, then fold the corners over one by one to make a tight round parcel. Set it seam side down on a lined tray and brush with butter (2 × 14 cm).

   Add in this stepFilo pastry sheets, thawed 8Butter 49 g

7. Bake on oven for 18 min, until the tops and sides are deep golden and crisp and the bases have coloured too.

   oven

8. Cool for 3 minutes, then dust generously with icing sugar through a sieve and decorate with fine criss-crossing lines of cinnamon. Serve warm, cut in half to show the layers.

   Add in this stepIcing sugar 1¼ tbspGround cinnamon ¼ tsp