Stranger Foods

Sweet and savoury chicken pie with cinnamon almonds

Serves 4 | Prep 20 mins | Cook 1 hr 45 mins

Pastilla, the rich meat pie that encapsulates Moroccan cuisine and its ability to combine sweet and savoury so cleverly, is the inspiration behind this dish. There’s some effort involved, but it’s well worth it for this glorious pie. Save time by making the dough a day ahead, or alternatively, use store-bought shortcrust pastry.

Source: Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things

Ingredients

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Pie dough

80 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
40 g wholemeal flour
1½ tsp caster sugar
115 g unsalted butter, fridge cold and cut into 1½ cm cubes
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
60 ml ice-cold water
salt and black pepper

Topping

2 tbsp olive oil
200 g peeled, halved and thinly sliced large onion
20 g fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
400 g chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
⅛ tsp saffron threads, soaked in 30 ml hot water for 20 minutes
5 g fresh coriander, roughly chopped, plus extra picked leaves to garnish
2 large eggs
¾ tbsp lemon juice

Cinnamon almonds

1 tbsp caster sugar
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp olive oil
25 g blanched almonds, toasted

Instructions

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For the dough, whisk both flours, the sugar and ¼ teaspoon of salt together in a large bowl. Add the butter and incorporate it into the flour by squashing each cube flat with your fingers. Don’t overwork the butter; you want chunks of it throughout the dough, so a light press with your fingers will do. Add the garlic and water and use your hands to gather the dough together into a shaggy ball. Wrap in cling film or reusable plastic wrap and refrigerate for .
Liberally flour a clean work surface and a rolling pin and roll the dough out into a 28 cm x 18 cm rectangle. Fold the shorter ends in towards each other so that they meet in the middle, then fold the dough in half. Roll out the dough once with the rolling pin and then repeat this process again, folding in the shorter ends and then folding the dough in half. Wrap with cling film or reusable plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least , or overnight.
For the topping, put 1½ tablespoons of the oil into a large sauté pan, for which you have a lid, on a medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly golden, about . Add the ginger, chicken and cinnamon and cook for 4 more minutes, to seal the chicken. Add the saffron water, 200 ml of water, ¾ teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Lower the heat to medium-low, then cover and leave to cook for about or until the chicken is cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a bowl, roughly shred into large chunks and set aside. Return the pan to a medium-high heat and allow the sauce to bubble and reduce for about , to roughly 6 tablespoons. Remove from the heat and stir in the chicken and coriander.
Next, make the cinnamon almonds. Add the sugar, cinnamon, oil and 1 teaspoon of water to a small saucepan on a medium heat. Stir continuously until bubbling, about , then add the almonds and cook for more, or until crystallised. Transfer to a parchment-lined plate and leave to cool completely. Roughly chop.
Preheat the oven to 190°C fan.
Cut out a piece of baking parchment with similar dimensions to your large baking tray and place it on a work surface. Lightly flour the paper, then roll the dough out on it into a 28 cm x 28 cm square. Fold over the ends by about ½cm to create a thin rim around the edge. Transfer the parchment and dough to a large baking tray. Spread the chicken on the base, up to the rim, and bake for .
Remove from the oven and use the back of a spoon to create two wells in the chicken mixture. Crack your eggs into the wells and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Bake for another or until the whites have cooked through and the yolks are still runny.
Slide on to a wooden board, spoon over the lemon juice, drizzle with the remaining 1½ teaspoons of oil and sprinkle with the extra coriander and the cinnamon almonds.

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