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Winter vegetable pastilla

A flaky, Moroccan-spiced pie with roasted veggies, caramelized onions, eggs, & toasted almonds
Prep Time2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time3 hours
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: Moroccan
Keyword: almonds, carrot, eggs, filo dough, parsnip, sweet potato
Servings: 6

Ingredients

Roasted vegetables:

  • 2 medium carrots about 160 g (5.6 oz), peeled and cut into 1 cm (½ inch) chunks
  • 1 large parsnip about 180 g (6.3 oz), peeled and cut into 1 cm (½ inch) chunks
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 4 star anise
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 20 g cilantro (½ cup chopped) small stems ok
  • 10 g parsley leaves chopped (½ cup packed)
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp ground ginger
  • ¼ tsp turmeric
  • ¼ tsp paprika
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • ⅛ tsp Cayenne pepper
  • 250 g peeled, cubed sweet potato approximately 1 cm (½ inch) cubes
  • 1 pinch saffron
  • 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
  • 100 g (heaping ½ cup) dried apricots, roughly chopped
  • 20 g (scant ¼ cup) preserved lemon, finely chopped
  • ½ tbsp harissa
  • 40 g cilantro leaves (1 cup chopped)

Caramelized onions:

  • 700 g onions about 3 large onions
  • 2 ½ tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 25 g (2 tbsp) sugar
  • chicken broth or water as needed

Almonds:

  • 150 g whole, blanched almonds
  • 1 tbsp butter melted
  • 3 tbsp (15 g) powdered sugar
  • ¾ tsp cinnamon

Eggs:

  • 4 eggs
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

Crust:

  • 9 sheets filo dough
  • 3 tbsp 45 g melted butter
  • 1 ½ tbsp 20 g olive oil

Decoration:

  • Powdered sugar
  • Ground cinnamon

Instructions

  • Roast the vegetables: Preheat the oven to 190 °C. Cut the carrots and parsnip into 1 cm (½ inch) cubes and place in a 13x9 inch (33x23 cm) baking dish. Then add the next ingredients from the cinnamon stick to the Cayenne pepper. Bake at 190 °C for 20 minutes, uncovered.
  • Caramelize the onions while the veg roasts: While the vegetables start roasting, slice the onions from tip to root in approximately 3 mm (1/8 inch) slices. Heat 2 ½ tbsp olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Add 1 cinnamon stick, ¼ tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp salt, and 2 tbsp (25 g) sugar. Cook 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. If the pan starts getting dry, add a spoonful of water or broth to prevent burning. The onions should be soft and moderately caramelized after 40 minutes.
  • Toast the almonds while the other veg cooks: Wrap the whole blanched almonds in aluminum foil, in a single layer, on a baking tray. Position the tray underneath the roasting vegetables in the oven, where the temperature is a little cooler. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until golden. Check the almonds periodically to avoid burning. Coarsely grind the toasted almonds with 1 tbsp melted butter. Stir in 3 tbsp (15 g) powdered sugar plus ¾ tsp ground cinnamon. Set aside.
  • Continue roasting the vegetables: Add the cubed sweet potato to the baking dish with the carrots and mix. Cook for 25 minutes more. Heat the chicken broth, and add the pinch of saffron. Let the flavor infuse while the sweet potato cooks. After the 25 minutes, the cubed vegetables should be somewhat soft, but not mushy.
  • Add the dried apricots to the carrot mix along with 1 cup saffron-infused chicken broth. Cook 15 more minutes.
  • Remove the roasted vegetables from the oven. In a large bowl, mix the roasted vegetables, including up to 2 tbsp of the excess broth, half of the caramelized onions, the finely chopped preserved lemon, ½ tbsp harissa, and 1 cup chopped cilantro leaves. Save the other half of the onions for step 7.
  • Prepare the eggs once the onions are cooked: Beat the eggs with ¼ tsp salt. Reheat the pan used for the onions over medium heat. Add back the second half of the onions, plus 1 tbsp olive oil, ¼ tsp ground cinnamon, and the beaten eggs. Cook for about 5 minutes, mixing frequently and breaking up the eggs.
  • You now have the three layers to assemble your pastilla: eggs, roasted vegetables, and almonds.
  • Assemble the pastilla: When working with filo dough, keep a slightly damp tea towel over the sheets you are not using. Mix 3 tbsp (45 g) melted butter with 1 ½ tbsp (20 g) olive oil in a small bowl.
  • Brush the butter-oil mixture on one side of the first sheet of filo dough. Place this sheet oiled-side down in your pie tin. Repeat to make a bottom crust with 4 sheets of oiled filo. If your filo sheets are rectangular, rotate each layer, and leave the points hanging out of the pie pan while you add the filling.
  • Add the pastilla filling: egg-onion mixture on the bottom, then the roasted vegetables, and finally the ground almonds.
  • Fold the excess filo dough over the top of the pie filling. Using the same method as in step 10, make a top crust with the remaining 5 sheets of filo dough. After all 5 sheets are on top, carefully tuck the excess filo dough under the bottom of the pie in the pan. Brush the top with the butter mixture.
  • Bake: Bake the pastilla at 180 °C (350 °F), convection mode, for 25-30 minutes, until the crust turns a nice golden brown. The filling is already cooked, you just need to make the pastry crispy.
  • Decorate: Once cooked and out of the oven, sprinkle with a couple teaspoons of sifted powdered sugar and a dash of cinnamon.