Chicken Pastilla

Method

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1. 1Put the chicken in a wide pot with the onions, half the herbs, the ginger, cinnamon, ras el hanout, saffron, salt, olive oil and 240 ml water. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 45-50 minutes until the meat falls off the bone.
2. 2Lift out the chicken, discard the skin and bones and shred the meat. Boil the oniony liquid left in the pot over high heat for 10-15 minutes until reduced to a thick sauce of about 1 cup.
3. 3Lower the heat, pour in the beaten eggs and cook, stirring constantly, for 4-5 minutes until they set into soft, dry curds with almost no liquid left. Stir in the remaining herbs and let cool.
4. 4Toast the almonds in a dry pan or a 180 °C oven for 8-10 minutes until lightly browned and fragrant. Once cool, pulse them in a food processor to coarse crumbs and mix with the powdered sugar, a pinch of cinnamon and the orange blossom water.
5. 5Preheat the oven to 190 °C. Grease a 26-28 cm round pan and lay in 6 sheets of filo, brushing each with butter, overlapping in the center and hanging over the edges.
6. 6Scatter half the almond mixture over the base, then spread the egg sauce, then the shredded chicken and finally the rest of the almonds. Fold the overhanging pastry inward and brush with butter, then cover with the remaining 4 buttered sheets, tucking the edges underneath.
7. 7Brush the top generously with butter and bake for 30-35 minutes until deep golden and crisp. Rest for 10 minutes, turn onto a platter, dust with powdered sugar and draw a lattice of cinnamon lines on top.