These rolls are based loosely onb'stilla— a phyllo-crusted "pie" of shredded chicken that's been simmered with Moroccan spices and then mixed with egg and nuts. The egg lends the filling an almost custard-like richness.
Ingredients
Makes 32 hors d'oeuvres
Make filling:
Step 1
Cook onion in oil along with salt, cumin, ginger, turmeric, pepper, and coriander in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add chicken, broth, water, and cinnamon stick and simmer, covered, turning chicken over once, until meat is very tender, about 45 minutes total. Transfer chicken with tongs to a bowl, reserving cooking liquid.
Step 2
When cool enough to handle, shred chicken, discarding skin and bones, and transfer to a large bowl. Transfer cooking liquid to a 2-cup glass measure (do not clean saucepan) and let stand 1 minute, then skim off fat and discard cinnamon stick. Return liquid to saucepan and simmer over moderately high heat, uncovered, until reduced to about 1/4 cup (liquid will look like a glaze in bottom of pan), about 8 minutes, then stir into shredded chicken along with almonds.
Step 3
储备2汤匙蛋杯的蛋wash. Lightly season remaining egg with salt and pepper, then cook in 1/2 tablespoon butter in an 8- to 10-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat, stirring, until just set but still slightly soft. Stir scrambled egg into filling.
Make rolls:
Step 4
Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 450°F.
Step 5
Put 1 phyllo sheet on a work surface, keeping remaining phyllo covered with overlapping sheets of plastic wrap and a damp kitchen towel, and brush generously with some melted butter. Evenly sift 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon over buttered phyllo using a fine-mesh sieve, then top with another phyllo sheet and generously brush with butter.
Step 6
Halve buttered phyllo stack crosswise, then arrange 1 half with a long side nearest you. Spread 1/4 cup chicken filling in a narrow strip along edge nearest you, then roll up filling tightly in phyllo, leaving ends open. Transfer roll, seam side down, to a cutting board set inside a baking pan (to help contain mustard seeds when sprinkling). Make another roll with remaining half stack. Make 6 more rolls in same manner, transferring to cutting board.
Step 7
Lightly brush top of rolls with egg wash and immediately sprinkle with mustard seeds, pressing lightly on seeds to help adhere. Cut each roll crosswise into 4 pieces and arrange pieces 1 inch apart on 2 baking sheets. Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until phyllo is golden brown, about 12 minutes total.
Step 8
Transfer rolls to a rack to cool slightly.
·Rolls can be assembled (but not coated or cut) 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.
·Rolls can be assembled and cut (but not coated or baked) 2 weeks ahead and frozen, wrapped well in plastic wrap. Coat frozen rolls, then bake (do not thaw) in a preheated 350°F oven about 20 minutes.
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Reviews (53)
Back to Topmade this for a christmas party, but since it was not too fancy of an event and i was running out of time i made these into wraps. they were devoured in about 5 minutes. i am allergic to nuts so i left out the almonds and threw in some golden raisins...it was great!
talialynn80
brooklyn, ny
1/3/2010
我followed the recipe exactly and I'd make these again. They were great for guests considering the make-ahead options. The recipe was somewhat time consuming, but worth it. This was something different to make for guests.
Anonymous
12/30/2009
With the adjustments suggested in previous reviews, the final result is good. However, preparation is very labor intensive. Start to finish was about 2hrs for me. Previous reviews are spot on- the basic recipe needs more aggressive seasoning. I doubled the original spice quantities and then added 50% more spices to the shredded chicken to arrive at a non bland filling. Since Phyllo is so difficult to work with, I started with 2 sheets, rather than 2 separate sheets. I generously buttered the top of the 2nd sheet, sprinkled with cinnamon and then cut the sheets in 2. Instead of filling and rolling from the long end, I used the short end. Then I baked the uncut rolls for 10 min. The final result was very tasty. I don't know if I would prepare these again due to the amount of labor involved.
rl1856
SE Coast
11/21/2009
SO so delicious! And pretty easy to make, also lends itself to improvisation. I had some left over puff pastry and used that instead of phyllo dough, just made little pies with the mix and the dough... the other changes I made were omitting the turmeric since I had none, and omitting the eggs (I forgot them!!), I also used chicken breast cut into chunks since this is all I had around.
anlora
Washington DC
5/23/2009
i have a suggestion, a friend of mine uses spray butter, like Pam, instead of melted butter between th phyllo sheets in her spanakopita. Tastes great. I used it in the b'stilla recipe and only used butter on the last layer and everything turned out beautiful and flavorful. And fewer calories leaving more for wine!
mishamu
lynnhavenfl
4/27/2009
These are amazing!! This was my first phyllo effort. I didn't think it was difficult until I realized that if one layer tears... you can't simply cover it with another one. Thus, some of my rolls were less than perfect in appearance, but I'm trying it again tonight. I made it with 2 thighs and 2 legs, which totalled 3lbs and I quadrupled the seasonings. Its such a small amount of chicken, that you really want it to pop! I made the tomato sauce, but didn't really measure anything, which resulted in a lot more spice. It was great, as well. I did add raisins, powdered sugar (at the end) and subbed black sesame seeds for mustard seeds.
Ideose2
4/6/2009
used pre-bought phyllo cups (can't deal with phyllo sheets!) and froze for weeks. put them straight from freezer into a 350 oven for about seven (?) minutes, then topped each with a dollop of the spiced tomato sauce (which had also previously been frozen). guests positively devoured them. not too dry at all. excellent for making ahead!
Anonymous
New York, NY
1/25/2009
great! skipped nuts in filling due to allergies and still had great flavor. did not have enough filling for all of the phyllo dough in the package. would double filling and pack them a little more than suggested. rolls were beautiful with the seeds on top. sauce was great, used stewed tomatoes to hurry the recipe up. don't skip! impressive addition to any cocktail/ dinner party. would definitely make ahead, did take long time.
Anonymous
petaluma, ca
1/12/2009
The filling for this recipe was very tasty. I would definitely suggest preparing ahead though, as working with phyllo is time consuming and can be frustrating...too much to deal with on the day of the party. Most people at my party didn't use the sauce. I may work with it next time to make it a little more flavorful...I think it was missing something.
samajestee
los angeles
12/22/2008
very delicious appetizer, everyone loved them. The ingredients list looks long, but it's mostly spices to flavor this dish. I made these and cut them up and froze them, then coated them with the egg wash and mustard seeds before broiling them, so they proved to be a perfect do ahead party appetizer. I didn't even serve them with sauce, they were so flavorful on their own. One tip: while rolling the phyllo with chicken, make sure you keep the ones you already rolled covered with a damp cloth, not just the untouched phyllo. I noticed the ones I made first got very crispy and cracked when I tried to cut them. So either cut immediately or keep covered.
karasto
Boston, MA
12/8/2008
Good recipe, served at an oscar party to great reviews. A little time consuming, but I would make again.
Anonymous
Berkeley, Ca
8/24/2008
Halve phyllo crosswise? making tomorrow, will let you know.
thirteenowls
yellowknife
7/22/2008
love the flavours - but i didn't use the egg and instead added a homeade raisen relish & also whole star anise - yummy!
soupson7
Winnipeg, Canada
7/10/2008
I have made these many years for a holiday party. I made 4x the recipe this year and tey were gone within minutes of serving. Each year get rave reviews. two years ago I tried using the filling in store bought phyllo cups, but they came out dry. I do not use the sauce. I spent some time in Morocco and loved b'stilla, which is also known as pigeon pie. I sift some powdered sugar on the phyllo leaves before rolling, as I recall the pigeon pie has that in it.
Anonymous
Northern Virginia
1/16/2008
This recipe is fantastic. I used bone-in chicken breasts instead, and would probably omit the eggs next time as they didn't seem to really add much to the dish. I also added some Sriracha hot sauce to the tomato sauce for an extra kick. The rolls are slightly greasy from all of the butter that is brushed on to the phyllo dough. But, otherwise this is a winner!
Anonymous
12/28/2007
