Help!! What is bastilla?

"Matthew Givens" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I recently enjoyed a Moroccan dish called Chicken Bastilla... essentially a
shredded chicken mixture (with almonds and eggs) in a pastry, sprinkled
with powdered sugar and cinnamon. it was absol.utely delicious, and I
bought a cookbook from the restaurant so I could cook it myself.

The pastry used in the recipe is called bastilla, and I've never heard of
it. Specifically, it instructs me to cut pie-shaped pieces from one leaf
of bastilla.

This is a problem. I live in central Alabama, and we don't have many
(ha!) moroccan groceries around here, and have never seen bastilla for
sale. I know I can get frozen puff pastry and frozen phillo dough, but I
don't know if either is close enough to be used in this recipe (the pastry
seemed much lighter than puff pastry).

So, does anyone have any idea where I can get some bastilla? Failing
that, does anyone know of a good substitute?

Matthew Givens
Montgomery, Alabama

Go to google and type "what is bastilla?" Loads of info there.

Matthew Givens said:

So, does anyone have any idea where I can get some bastilla? Failing that,
does anyone know of a good substitute?

I'd go with phyllo.

<http://www.fabulousfoods.com/recipes/appetizers/apfowl/bastilla/bastilla.html>

--
Reg

Matthew Givens said:

I recently enjoyed a Moroccan dish called Chicken Bastilla... essentially a
shredded chicken mixture (with almonds and eggs) in a pastry, sprinkled with
powdered sugar and cinnamon. it was absol.utely delicious, and I bought a
cookbook from the restaurant so I could cook it myself.

The pastry used in the recipe is called bastilla, and I've never heard of
it. Specifically, it instructs me to cut pie-shaped pieces from one leaf of
bastilla.

This is a problem. I live in central Alabama, and we don't have many (ha!)
moroccan groceries around here, and have never seen bastilla for sale. I
know I can get frozen puff pastry and frozen phillo dough, but I don't know
if either is close enough to be used in this recipe (the pastry seemed much
lighter than puff pastry).

So, does anyone have any idea where I can get some bastilla? Failing that,
does anyone know of a good substitute?

Matthew Givens
Montgomery, Alabama

All the b'stilla recipes I've ever seen call for phyllo dough.
Cathy

"JoeSpareBedroom" <[email hidden]> wrote in
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Quoted message said:

"Matthew Givens" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

So, does anyone have any idea where I can get some bastilla? Failing
that, does anyone know of a good substitute?

Go to google and type "what is bastilla?" Loads of info there.

Also search on bestilla, b'steeya, bisteeya, bistayla, pastilla, bistiya
and bastila - it's one of those terms that's been spelt many different ways
in English translation.

But if all you need is the pastry, I've seen phyllo used on cooking shows
(and mentioned in the descriptions on restaurant menus).

K

"Amarantha" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"JoeSpareBedroom" <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

"Matthew Givens" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

So, does anyone have any idea where I can get some bastilla? Failing
that, does anyone know of a good substitute?

Go to google and type "what is bastilla?" Loads of info there.

Also search on bestilla, b'steeya, bisteeya, bistayla, pastilla, bistiya
and bastila - it's one of those terms that's been spelt many different
ways
in English translation.

But if all you need is the pastry, I've seen phyllo used on cooking shows
(and mentioned in the descriptions on restaurant menus).

K

They all sound Spanish, which makes sense to anyone who took a history
course or three.

Cathy said:

All the b'stilla recipes I've ever seen call for phyllo dough.

To be authentic, b'stilla should be made with ouarka (spelled various
different ways). Phyllo is a common approximation because it's much more
readily available.

In Alabama I'd go with phyllo, especially since Matthew already said it was
available locally.

Bob

Okay, thanks for the responses. I'll try the phyllo dough this weekend and
see what this stuff tastes like. I hope I can get close to the restaurant
taste, because it was fabulous.

"JoeSpareBedroom" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Matthew Givens" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I recently enjoyed a Moroccan dish called Chicken Bastilla... essentially
a shredded chicken mixture (with almonds and eggs) in a pastry, sprinkled
with powdered sugar and cinnamon. it was absol.utely delicious, and I
bought a cookbook from the restaurant so I could cook it myself.

The pastry used in the recipe is called bastilla, and I've never heard of
it. Specifically, it instructs me to cut pie-shaped pieces from one leaf
of bastilla.

This is a problem. I live in central Alabama, and we don't have many
(ha!) moroccan groceries around here, and have never seen bastilla for
sale. I know I can get frozen puff pastry and frozen phillo dough, but I
don't know if either is close enough to be used in this recipe (the
pastry seemed much lighter than puff pastry).

So, does anyone have any idea where I can get some bastilla? Failing
that, does anyone know of a good substitute?

Matthew Givens
Montgomery, Alabama

Go to google and type "what is bastilla?" Loads of info there.

cathy said:

Quoted message said:

All the b'stilla recipes I've ever seen call for phyllo dough.
Cathy

Paula Wolfert, if I remember right, calls phyllo a poor substitute and
recommends a homemade pastry leaf called, if I remember right, warka
that is made by slinging one end of an elastic dough ball at the bottom
of a hot inverted wok reserved for the purpose and peeling the sheets
that stick after they cook briefly.

TJ's (blacksalt's) description of Wolfert's method for Cretan rusks is
instructive:
<http://groups.google.com/group/rec.food.cooking/msg/671bfa60e3cb2840>

Most poeple use phyllo.

-bwg

Matthew Givens said:

Okay, thanks for the responses. I'll try the phyllo dough this weekend and
see what this stuff tastes like. I hope I can get close to the restaurant
taste, because it was fabulous.

I am married to a Moroccan and have two Moroccan s's in law and they
both use Phyllo.
They make almost everything my hand-but I have never seen them make
ourka.

Tracy