Ginger Jar Food
Monday, May 17th, 2010
Bstilla, pastilla, err, chicken & onion pies
Ginger Jar has been booked for an Arabian Nights themed birthday party later this summer, so we set about developing canapés to match. The client grew up with a Moroccan house keeper and has wonderful memories of her creating these chicken and onion pies, layering filo pastry with almonds and topping the whole thing with icing sugar in cinnamon – so first of our list was a canapé version of the bstilla!
Makes 36 canapés
Adapted from the brilliant Claudia Roden’s recipe in Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon
INGREDIENTS
300g chicken thigh fillets, skinned and cut into a small dice
2 large onions, finely diced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
25g flaked almonds
25g ground almonds
1 teaspoon of ground ginger
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon of ground all spice
1/2 a teaspoon of ground cayenne
1 bunch coriander, chopped
2 packs of filo pastry – 6 sheets in each
70g melted butter
1 egg
To decorate:
Icing sugar
Ground cinnamon
METHOD
First make the filling…
- Sweat the onions very slowly in butter and oil until soft (leave the lid on so they steam).
- Stir in the ground spices and then the chicken and season well with salt & pepper. Cook for around 10 mins until all cooked through and any moisture has evapourated.
- Add the chopped coriander and mix well
- Fry the almonds in a little oil to toast them.
To create the filo baskets…
- Working one sheet at a time, brush the pastry with melted butter then cut into 5cm squares (keep sheets not being used covered with damp tea towel or cling film to prevent them drying out).
- Layer 3 squares on top of each other, sprinkling ground almonds between the layers and fanning them around at an angle to each other, and press into a 24 canapé / bun tin to create a cup – bake at 190C till crispy and golden (approx 3 – 4 mins)
To assemble…
- Pile the filling generously into the baskets and top with the flaked almonds and some sieved icing sugar and cinnamon. It sounds odd on a savoury dish but I promise it’s delicious. You can also top with red amaranth micro herb if you can get them from your local green grocer – you’ll probably need to ask them to order them in.
ENJOY! Ginger Jar x
Interested in wine too? Come along to a wine & food matching event, Friday May 21st, London.
View some of our other canapés by browsing the gallery below.
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