I had never heard of Chicken B'stilla before seeing it in Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table. As I read the ingredients I was surprised that that something so foreign and exotic, pretty much contained stuff I already cook with all the time. Basically it is a bunch of ingredients I know but put together in a different package.
Chicken thighs are marinated in onions and an intoxicating blend of spices and then poached in chicken stock. I never use chicken thighs. I normally don't like dark meat even though it is heralded as having more flavor. In the spirit of trying new things, I picked up a package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs and was pleasantly surprised at how good they are (and how much cheaper they are than chicken breasts). The aroma from the cinnamon, ginger, coriander, and saffron is unbelievable! The cooked chicken is removed from the broth and it is reduced down with a generous helping of lemon juice. Honey (currently my favorite ingredient to cook with) is whisked into some eggs and this mixture is added to the broth. The chicken is added back in, sprinkled with toasted almonds, and then placed in a blanket of buttery phyllo dough. Cinnamon and sugar finish off the pie and it is baked until the dough is golden and flaky.
This was one of the more interesting dishes I have ever made and I was pleasantly surprised that I liked it as much as I did. But in reality, it's just an exotic chicken pot pie! What's not to like?
My only criticism was that there were too many almonds. This is an odd thing for my to complain about because I LOVE almonds, but the crunch was a bit off putting. My daughter enjoyed this one too!
French Fridays with Dories' rules prevent us bloggers from posting the recipe, but I found it online here.
Your Bistilla looks really good. Really an interesting mix of spices isn't it.. I'm glad you and your sis had fun. B:)
ReplyDeleteLooks really nice, and glad you liked it!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog. I agree this is just an exotic pot pie, but delicious nonetheless. Funny, I prefer chicken thighs to breasts and almost always use them instead. They are smaller and don't dry out as easily.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you enjoy it! You're right that it's simply different combination of ingredients we already use regularly.
ReplyDeleteYour pie turned out great - and I love your Moroccan inspired plate!
ReplyDeleteSo pretty! I am really surprised that I liked this dish so much since I don't care for chicken pot pies.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment on my blog.
ReplyDeleteI'm so pleased because now I've looked around at yours. You have some wonderful recipes! Salted Dulce de Leche cheesecake bars? French Country Chicken with Herbs and Honey? Such unique and delicious sounding posts!
I look forward to reading more of your posts throughout the year.
Happy Baking!
You share my same thoughts. And your photo is great. I felt like I was doing a craft or art project in the kitchen...this dish took some time and was a bit creative, smelled great, and we all enjoyed the unusual flavors not usual to us with chicken.
ReplyDeleteHow fun that you discovered something new and liked it! I love this flavor combination as well.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was well worth the time as well. Didn't have much to say about it though as my mouth was too full!
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