Chicken Pastilla

Method

1. Grate or very finely chop the onions, mince the garlic and finely chop the herbs. Put the chicken, onions, garlic, herbs, ginger, turmeric, half the cinnamon, the saffron crumbled between your fingers, salt, pepper, water, oil and a little of the butter in a 20 cm pot and bring to the boil on high heat. Turn down to medium-low heat, cover and braise for 40 min, until the meat pulls easily from the bone.

   Add in this stepBone-in, skin-on chicken thighs 500 gOnions 2Garlic cloves 2Flat-leaf parsley 10 gFresh coriander (cilantro) 10 gGround ginger 1 tspGround turmeric ½ tspGround cinnamon ¾ tspSaffron threads 1 pinchSalt 1 tspBlack pepper ½ tspWater 250 mlVegetable oil 1½ tbspButter 10 g

   high heat→medium-low heat

2. Lift out the chicken, let it cool a little, discard the skin and bones and shred the meat roughly by hand. Boil the onion sauce left in the pot on medium-high heat for 10 min, stirring, until almost all the liquid has gone and the onions look thick and jammy.

   medium-high heat

3. Beat the eggs, pour them into the reduced onions and stir slowly on medium-low heat for 3 min until they set into soft, moist curds. If liquid pools, drain it in a sieve so the pastry stays crisp. Mix in the shredded chicken, check the seasoning and let it cool completely.

   Add in this stepEggs 2

   medium-low heat

4. Toast the almonds in a dry pan on medium heat for 5 min, shaking, until golden and fragrant. Once cool, chop them coarsely or pulse briefly in a food processor to a rough crumb, then mix in part of the icing sugar and part of the cinnamon.

   Add in this stepAlmonds (blanched if possible) 60 gIcing sugar 1¾ tbspGround cinnamon ½ tsp

   medium heat

5. Heat the oven to 180 °C. Melt the rest of the butter and brush it over the base and sides of a 20 cm round tin or ovenproof pan. Lay in the filo one sheet at a time, brushing each with butter and letting it hang well over the edge (use about two thirds of the sheets). Scatter the almonds over the base, then spread the chicken and egg filling on top. Fold the overhanging pastry over, cover with the remaining buttered sheets and tuck the edges down inside the tin. Brush the top with butter once more.

   Add in this stepFilo pastry sheets, thawed 6Butter 40 g

6. Bake on oven for 30 min, until the top is deep golden and crisp. If it browns too fast, lay a loose sheet of foil over it.

   oven

7. Cool for 5 minutes, then cover with a plate, turn it out and flip it onto a serving plate so the smooth base is on top. Dust generously with icing sugar through a sieve, draw a lattice of cinnamon lines and cut while warm.

   Add in this stepIcing sugar 1¼ tbspGround cinnamon ¼ tsp