Introduce Spices With These Moroccan Chicken Fingers (Bastilla)
Bastilla is Moroccan in origin/renown and pie in form, a mix of savory (meat, onions, warming spices) and sweet (fruit, sugar) stuffed between flaky crusts. When we first tackled serving it, we assumed a pie of any sort, and especially pie-as-dinner, would be of obvious appeal to our child, and thus made the dish in its original and intended form; our son, well, blanched. His reaction, to be generous here, was more philosophical than pleased: Why does this pie not taste like pie? Why would pie taste like chicken? Et al.
Reader, he did not eat this.
That happens, of course–and happens to us as much as anyone else. But if you’re at all familiar with Moroccan cuisine, or if you’ve scanned the ingredients of the recipe below, you know there’s nothing in here the average toddler won’t eat; it’s not too difficult of a reach for them, especially if you focus on accessibility. So, literally, roll with the changes. Make it handheld. Crunch focused. A simpler filling. A sweeter exterior. The components are basically the same, yes–but it definitely eats more like a pizza roll than a pie. (On the plus side, less work/effort on your end with phyllo dough, which is always a plus.)
Ingredients
Instructions
Prep
- If frozen, thaw your phyllo dough sheets. (Be sure to cover them with a towel, as they’ll dry out if exposed to air for a long time.)
- Pat the chicken pieces with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. Salt all over.
- Chop dates into small pieces. Shell pistachios and place in blender; blend until finely chopped or granular (if your child doesn’t like the texture of nuts).
- Grease the bottom of a baking sheet, or line it with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 375. Melt a tablespoon of butter if using.
Cook and Assemble
- Heat oil in a pan at Medium-High. Sear chicken until brown on both sides, roughly two minutes a side. Remove from heat; set aside.
- Add the cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, and a spoonful of garlic to the pan; add a small amount of oil if none is left in pan. Allow spices to bloom for 20-30 seconds.
- Add ¾ cup of water and the spices. Bring the contents of the pan to a boil, then add chicken pieces back in and cover; reduce heat to Medium. Cook until chicken is cooked through, roughly 10 minutes. Remove chicken from pan but leave liquid in it, reducing heat to Low.
- Shred and chop chicken until you have a pile of small pieces.
- Beat the eggs until yolk and whites are fully mixed. Add to the pan and allow to cook for 20-30 seconds.
- Add the chicken, chopped dates, pistachios, and a ton of parsley to the pan; stir to combine. Turn off heat.
- Layer one sheet of phyllo on pan and spread/spray with butter, oil, or cooking spray; place another over the top and spread/spray it, too, then press sheets into one another.
- Spread the chicken mixture in a thin line along the long edges of the phyllo. Cover the chicken with the remaining 2 sheets of phyllo, again spreading/spraying the top of each layer with butter, spray, or oil.
- Split the phyllo in half by cutting lengthwise across the center of the phyllo. Starting from the edges with the chicken mixture, roll up each piece until cigar-shaped, with the chicken enrobed in the dough. Grease the top of the roll-up with butter, oil, or cooking spray.
- Bake on the center rack of the oven until the phyllo is golden brown, roughly 8-10 minutes.
- Allow five minutes to cool.
Serve
Cooks in Morocco and Algeria typically top bastilla with powdered sugar and/or cinnamon; we favor honey, but can’t argue with the fact that dusting the top with sugar is likely a good way to capture their interest. If that doesn’t work, try breaking out large shards of the phyllo and top with the chicken mixture–you know, like nachos.
Adapt
At the risk of heresy, know this: if you don’t have any dates on hand, a spoonful or squeeze of jelly will work just as well.
