Moroccan Pigeon Pastilla

This is a lovely version of the classic Moroccan Pigeon Pastilla, a pastry which is half sweet, half savoury. It is made with filo pastry, stuffed with tender pigeon and lightly scrambled egg, and the finished dish is sprinkled with icing sugar and cinnamon, almost as if it were a cake! But combined with the aromatic spices and rich pigeon meat, the whole thing does work. A very, very luxurious pie, in fact! Be warned, this recipe is not for people on a health kick as it involves a lot of butter, along with eggs and sugar being involved too.

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 10 minutes

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Ingredients

4 Pigeons
3 Onions, chopped
1tsp Ginger powder
1tsp Turmeric
1tsp Cinnamon powder
2tsp Parsley
1tsp Coriander Leaf
250g Butter
20g Caster Sugar
1 Cinnamon Stick
12 strands Saffron
1tsp Ras el Hanout
6 Eggs
6 sheets Filo Pastry
20g Roasted Almonds, chopped
15g Flaked Almonds

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Method

1

Season the pigeon with salt, pepper, the ginger powder, cinnamon powder and turmeric. Heat a heavy pan and brown the pigeons in a little olive oil. Remove the pigeon from the pan and add the onion along with the rest of the spices, including the caster sugar. Saute this gently for 2-3 minutes before adding 230g butter. Return the pigeon to the pan, put the lid on and let it simmer for 45 mins, until the pigeon is tender. When ready remove the pigeon from the pan and allow it to cool. Beat the eggs, then add them to the pan and scramble them with the onion mixture, then set aside. Remove the pigeon meat from the bones, cut it into small cubes, and then add it to the onion and egg mixture along with the chopped almonds and some chopped fresh coriander. Melt the rest of the butter and brush it all over the pastry sheets. Use 4 buttered sheets for the base of the pastilla, and place the pigeon, egg and onion mixture in the middle. Place another 2 sheets of pastry on the top, then carefully fold the pastry over on the top to form a nice round shape. Bake the pastilla in an oven at 180d for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Sprinkle the cooked pastilla with icing sugar and cinnamon powder, and garnish with the flaked almonds.

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