Bastilla is Morocco’s showpiece, a pie that startles anyone expecting savory or sweet and gets both at once. Spiced, tender chicken and soft eggs are layered with sweet cinnamon almonds, all wrapped in shatteringly crisp pastry and dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon. It is elaborate, festive, and unlike anything else, the dish brought out for weddings and special guests. Making it is a project with several stages, but each is straightforward, and the sweet-savory result is one of the most memorable things in Moroccan cooking.
A Pie From Fez
Bastilla, also spelled pastilla or b’stilla, is associated above all with Fez, Morocco’s old imperial city, and it is a celebration dish reserved for weddings, feasts, and honored guests. Its roots reach back to Andalusian cuisine, brought to Morocco by Moors who left Spain. Traditionally it was made with pigeon, though chicken is the common choice today, and a seafood version made with fish and vermicelli is popular in coastal cities. The defining feature is its combination of savory meat and sweet, spiced almonds under a dusting of sugar, a contrast that captures the Moroccan love of sweet-and-savory cooking.
The Spiced Chicken
The filling begins with chicken simmered slowly with grated onion, saffron, ginger, cinnamon, and herbs until it is falling-apart tender and deeply flavored. The meat is then pulled from the bones and shredded. This is essentially a rich, spiced chicken braise, and it should taste good on its own before it ever goes into the pie. Saffron and cinnamon give it the warm, fragrant, slightly sweet character that will play against the pastry and sugar. Simmer it long enough that the chicken is meltingly soft and the onions have collapsed into the sauce, since this is the heart of the pie.
The Egg Layer
Once the chicken is shredded, the flavorful cooking liquid is reduced and then thickened with beaten eggs cooked into a soft, moist scramble, almost custard-like. This egg layer binds the pie and adds richness. The key is not to overcook it: the eggs should set softly and stay moist, since dry, overcooked egg makes a dry bastilla. Cook them gently in the reduced, spiced broth so they carry all that flavor. This use of egg to enrich and bind a poultry pie is one of the distinctive features of bastilla, setting it apart from a simple meat pie.
The Sweet Almonds
The element that makes bastilla unforgettable is the almond layer. Almonds are fried until golden, then ground and mixed with powdered sugar, cinnamon, and often a little orange blossom water. This sweet, fragrant, crunchy layer sits against the savory chicken and eggs, and the contrast is the whole point of the dish. It sounds unlikely and tastes wonderful. Do not be tempted to leave out the sugar to make it more conventionally savory, since the sweet-savory balance is exactly what defines bastilla. The orange blossom water adds a floral note characteristic of Moroccan sweets.
Wrapping and Baking
The pie is built in a round pan with warqa, the paper-thin Moroccan pastry, or phyllo as a widely available substitute. Layer several buttered sheets in the pan, letting them overhang, then add the shredded chicken, the egg mixture, and the sweet almonds in layers. Fold the overhanging pastry over the top, add a few more buttered sheets, and tuck it into a neat round. Butter every layer well, since that is what makes the pastry bake into crisp, golden, shattering sheets. Bake until deep golden and crisp all over, so the many layers of pastry crackle.
The Finish and Serving
The signature final touch is a dusting of powdered sugar over the whole top, often with lines of cinnamon drawn across it in a decorative pattern. This sweet finish on the crisp savory pie is what everyone remembers. Serve bastilla warm, cut into wedges, as a starter or a centerpiece at a feast. It is rich and substantial, so small portions go far. Traditionally it is eaten with the hands, breaking through the crisp top to the layers beneath. Bring it to the table whole and dramatic, then cut it in front of your guests to reveal the layers.
Common Questions
Can I use phyllo instead of warqa?
Yes. Warqa is the traditional Moroccan pastry, but phyllo is a widely available substitute that works well. Butter every sheet as you layer it, just as you would for warqa, so it bakes crisp and golden.
Isn’t the sweet-and-savory combination strange?
It is the whole point of bastilla and a hallmark of Moroccan cooking. The sweet cinnamon-almond layer and sugar dusting against the spiced chicken create the contrast that defines the dish. Trust it; the balance works.
Can I make it ahead?
Yes. Prepare the chicken, egg, and almond fillings ahead, and even assemble the pie, then bake it fresh so the pastry is crisp. Dust with sugar and cinnamon just before serving. It is best warm from the oven.
Bastilla, also spelled pastilla, is a Moroccan layered pie of spiced poultry, almonds, and egg wrapped in thin warqa pastry, a celebration dish from Fez with roots in Andalusian cuisine.