Moroccan Pastilla

History

The sweet-and-savory character of pastilla points directly to its Andalusian heritage: the dish is widely believed to have arrived largely with Muslim and Jewish refugees fleeing Al-Andalus (the Iberian Peninsula) after the Reconquista, who brought with them culinary techniques and flavor pairings — like meat with almonds, sugar, and cinnamon — characteristic of Andalusian cuisine, before the dish adapted further within Morocco’s royal and urban culinary traditions, particularly in Fez, long considered its spiritual birthplace.

Traditionally made with pigeon rather than the chicken more commonly substituted today, pastilla is a labor-intensive dish reserved for special occasions and celebrations, assembled in carefully layered stages: warqa pastry (a paper-thin dough, similar to but not identical to filo), a spiced meat filling, a layer of almonds, sugar, and cinnamon, all baked and finished with a dusting of powdered sugar and cinnamon on top — creating the dish’s signature contrast of crisp pastry, savory meat, and sweet spice in a single bite.

Ingredients — for 6-8 people

• 8-10 sheets brick pastry (or warqa)
• 1 chicken, cut into pieces
• 150 g (5.3 oz) flaked almonds, toasted and crushed
• Saffron, cinnamon, ground ginger
• 2 onions, 4 eggs, fresh cilantro and parsley
• Powdered sugar for dusting, melted butter

Moroccan pastilla recipe, step by step

1. Simmer the chicken with onions, saffron, ginger, and spices until very tender.
2. Shred the meat and set aside, then reduce the cooking liquid and stir in beaten eggs to form a thick, creamy mixture.
3. Combine the crushed almonds with sugar and a little cinnamon.
4. Layer several buttered sheets of brick pastry in a baking dish, then fill with the egg mixture, shredded chicken, and sweetened almonds.
5. Fold the brick pastry over the filling to form a well-sealed parcel, adding a few more buttered sheets on top.
6. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until the pastilla is golden and crisp, then dust with powdered sugar and cinnamon before serving.

Cooking method

Technique: layered assembly of buttered brick pastry sheets, savory filling then sweet topping, baked for even crispness.

Traditional equipment: a large, shallow round dish; a traditional Moroccan oven or a home oven.

Tips: butter each sheet of brick pastry generously to ensure even crispness with no soft spots.

Nutrition, per serving

Calculated from the raw ingredient quantities above, divided across seven servings, the middle of the stated 6-8 range.

Protein is unusually high for a pastry dish, driven by the whole chicken and the four eggs folded into the filling. The fat is split between three sources of roughly equal weight — the almonds, the buttered pastry sheets, and the chicken skin — which is also why 14 g of the 47 g is saturated: butter and skin, not almonds, account for most of that share.

Economic context

Pastilla was never everyday cooking, and its ingredient list explains why: a whole bird, a full pack of almonds, saffron, and sheet after sheet of pastry, each brushed individually with butter, is a labour and cost commitment well above Morocco’s ordinary food budget. Historically a royal and urban dish rather than a rural one, it remains reserved for weddings, holidays and honoured guests — a dish defined as much by the occasion it marks as by its taste.

Source: World Bank / FAO, Food Prices for Nutrition database (Cost and Affordability of a Healthy Diet) v4.0, 2024 data, CC BY 4.0, DOI 10.57966/41AN-KY81. Retrieved 29 July 2026. This figure describes the cost of a healthy diet in Morocco generally — it is not a costing of this specific recipe.

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