In Morocco, pastilla is a ubiquitous dish, found in upscale restaurants, casual cafes, and budget-friendly bakeries alike. This flaky pie features layers of extra-thin dough known as warqa and various fillings, from savory seafood medleys to sweet and nutty shredded chicken, or even a layer of aromatic dessert custard. These styles grace menus across the country and appear at most Moroccan gatherings.
Traditionally stuffed with pigeon (now more frequently made with chicken), bstila is a pastry that blends salty and sweet, cinnamon and cilantro. Claudia Roden calls it “one of the great dishes of Morocco” and “food for the gods.”
Here we will delve into the rich history of this iconic dish, tracing its origins and exploring the cultural influences that have shaped its evolution.
Origins and Influences
Authorities most closely associate the city of Fes with the birth of authentic pigeon pastilla, and the Spaniards, Berbers, and Sephardic Jews that ended up there are all thought to have influenced the sweet and savory staple.
It likely has something to do with bstila‘s signature combination of sugar, cinnamon, poultry, and almonds. This kind of salty-sweet contrast, and the use of cinnamon in savory dishes, are characteristics of classical Arab cuisine, which traveled from Damascus to al-Andalus shortly after the Umayyad caliphate set up camp there in the 8th century.
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In any case, Fes and Tetouan both have strong Andalusian associations because many Muslims and Jews fleeing Spain following a series of expulsions ordered by Christian rulers settled in these cities.
Tetouan was understudied in English-language scholarship for a long time. Recent work by Eric Calderwood and David Stenner has begun to remedy this. Within Morocco, Tetouan is also popularly known for its sophisticated cuisine. Because it was largely populated by Muslims and Jews fleeing Iberia after 1492, it is one of a handful of Moroccan cities whose foods are said to bear the traces of the legendary cuisine of al-Andalus. Bastila is one dish that is often said to descend from this heritage.
Seeking evidence of its origins, I sifted through two thirteenth-century Andalusi cookbooks, looking for something like it.[1] I found a few recipes that bore a strong resemblance to the stuffing that goes inside modern-day bastila, but nothing about the fine layers of phyllo-like pastry that enclose it--and no reference to a dish by that name.
Bouhlila’s study corroborated the theory that the paper-thin ouarka used to make bastila, as well as the name of the dish itself, were introduced to Morocco by way of Tetouani cuisine sometime after 1830.
B'stilla aux pigeons - Moroccan Pigeon Pie.
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The Role of Dadas
But dadas, female cooks hired by wealthy Moroccan families, were often the ones actually making the dish. Many of these women became skilled cooks, referred to in Morocco as dadas. To say they have gotten short shrift in Moroccan history is an understatement.
These women fashioned the time-consuming dough and prepared the filling in three separate layers: ground almonds, stewed pigeons, and scrambled eggs.
Guinaudeau also alludes to another crucial (and much-neglected) aspect of bstila’s history: in aristocratic Fassi households, it was often enslaved women or their descendants who perfected, performed, and preserved specialized culinary knowledge.
Cookbook authors since Guinaudeau have emphasized how difficult and perhaps impossible it is to make pastry dough for bstila by hand unless you have grown up doing it from a very young age: in an early (1974) edition of her Book of Middle Eastern Food, Roden refers to it as something that requires “an almost inherited experience” (102-3).
By the 1970s, bstila and many other foods of Fes had been recast as Moroccan national dishes (thanks in part to a complex process of political and cultural transformation that my dissertation, still a work in progress, is attempting to work out).
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The specifics of its history, from the work of the dadas to the stories of Andalusians fleeing persecution in Spain, have largely been folded into broad labels like “traditional” (taqlidi) and “authentic” (asili).
Modern Adaptations
Today, restaurant chefs prepare pigeon pastilla using boneless birds. They may assemble the pie in layers, or combine everything into one consistent filling. The filling is still rich, gamey pigeon meat, beaten eggs, and ground almonds, seasoned with onion, sugar, and spices.
Both cinnamon and powdered sugar grace the top. To first-time tasters from abroad, the finished effect is akin to a gamey mincemeat pie mixed with almond baklava.
Deep within the old, walled cities around Morocco, families maintained pigeon coops that provided plump squabs, as well as excrement used in animal hide processing. Traditional Moroccan tanneries (which are tucked deep within the old cities) sometimes rely on the birds’ excrement to make a leather-softening solution. But demand for pigeon dishes and practices around “natural” leather-making has begun to decline.
Chicken, on the other hand, became increasingly popular and readily available. You can find chicken pastilla just about anywhere in Morocco.
Similar Dishes in Other Cultures
Similar dishes to pigeon pie exist in other cultures. An early recipe for pigeon pie was given in A Proper Newe Booke of Cokerye, published in London in 1575.
In Spain, pigeon eating was a common practice as early as the 14th century under the 1379 Order of the Pigeon created by King Juan I of Castile. In 1611, a recipe book by the royal chef at the court of Philip III of Spain included recipes for pigeon pie.
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Recipe for Moroccan Chicken B’stilla Pie
Here is a simplified recipe inspired by Moroccan B’stilla, using chicken instead of pigeon and store-bought phyllo dough for convenience:
Ingredients:
- 1/2 rotisserie chicken, shredded
- 1/2 cup almond flour, toasted
- 1/4 cup cilantro and parsley, minced
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 3 eggs
- 1 large onion, sautéed
- 1 tsp ras el hanout
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- Pinch of saffron threads soaked in 1 tbsp water
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Phyllo dough, thawed
- Melted butter
- Powdered sugar and cinnamon for dusting
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Mix shredded chicken, toasted almond flour, minced cilantro and parsley, chicken broth, eggs, sautéed onion, ras el hanout, red pepper flakes, saffron mixture, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
- Grease a 9” springform pan.
- Layer two sheets of buttered phyllo dough in the pan, pressing along the sides. Repeat to form the base of the pie.
- Spread 1/3 of the chicken filling into the pan.
- Repeat the buttering-layering-spreading process twice more.
- Fold the hanging corners of the phyllo dough over the filling.
- Cover the filling completely with the last four sheets of phyllo dough.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Dust with powdered sugar and cinnamon before serving.
This version of B'stilla, while adapted for modern kitchens, still captures the essence of the traditional Moroccan pie. Enjoy this delightful blend of sweet and savory flavors!
| Filling Type | Ingredients | Flavor Profile |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional | Pigeon, almonds, eggs, spices | Rich, gamey, sweet and savory |
| Modern | Chicken, almonds, eggs, spices | Similar to traditional, but milder |
| Seafood | Seafood medley, spices | Savory, oceanic |
| Dessert | Milk custard, aromatic spices | Sweet, aromatic |
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