Baking

Variously pronounced bstilla, pastilla, and bisteeya, it is one of the great dishes of Morocco, described as “food for the gods.” Vast quantities are made in huge trays for weddings and grand occasions. The version with pigeons is the most prestigious. Moroccans say the dish was brought back by the Moors from Andalusia after the Reconquista, but in Andalusia, at El Molino, the center of gastronomic research outside Granada, where they serve it as a historic dish, they say it was brought to Spain from Morocco. In a thirteenth-century Andalusian culinary manuscript in Arabic (see Lucie Bolens, appendix) there is a recipe for a pigeon omelet which is almost identical to the filling for bstilla. The preparation of the pastry called ouarka requires much skill and experience (see page 125). You can buy it vacuum-packed in French supermarkets, so perhaps we will be able to find it in America soon. Store-bought sheets of fillo make an excellent alternative. There are two famous versions. The one of Fez is the most surprising, with its sweet-and-savory combination, but you must also try the sharp lemony one of Tétouan, which is given as a variation. The cooked birds are not deboned in Morocco—the bones are left in the pie—but it is much more pleasant to eat the pie without them.

These large individual pies with a Turkish filling make a wonderful first course. You need the sweet orange-fleshed pumpkin for this. It is sold in Middle Eastern and Oriental stores, almost all the year round, in large slices, with the seeds and stringy bits removed.

Meat pies are traditionally little triangles. The classic Arab filling is called tatbila. In Turkey, where these are called börek, they use the thicker kind of fillo pastry for them. If your sheets are too thin and look likely to tear, use 2 strips together and brush with melted butter or oil in between.

The traditional shape for eggplant pies is a coil or snail shape, but large square packets are simple to make and don’t tear as easily. And they are just as good. These pies can be served as a first course or a main dish. The Turkish eggplant filling is delicate in flavor and delicious. If you want to make them into a coil, use the method given above (“Making Fillo Coils,” page 119).

The large individual pies make a wonderful first course.

This is the most popular Turkish börek. The little rolls or “cigars” make ideal appetizers and canapés. It is best to use a thicker quality of fillo, which is not likely to tear during cooking. If the fillo sheets are too thin, use 2 strips together and brush with butter or oil in between. In this case you will need to double the number of sheets.

These little pies, which are filled with nuts—almonds, pine nuts, pistachios, or walnuts—can be served with tea or coffee, either dusted with confectioners’ sugar or dipped in syrup. Use commercial fresh or frozen and defrosted puff pastry.

Osmaliyah has been known for generations in my family in Egypt as konafa and I have featured it before. I include it here again because, of all the Lebanese pastries that are good to make at home and to serve at a dinner party, this is one of the best; it is my mother’s recipe. It is meant to be served hot but it is also good cold. You can buy the soft white vermicelli-like dough frozen in Lebanese, Turkish, and Greek stores. In Lebanon, it is called knafe but in America it is sold by its Greek name, kataifi, usually in 1-pound packages; it should be defrosted for 2 to 3 hours. The quantities below will make one large pastry to serve 10, but you can also make two half the size—one to serve fewer people and one to put in the freezer to bake at a later date. It freezes well uncooked.

This pie with a beguilingly flavorsome filling is a refined interpretation of musakhan, which is of Bedouin origin and is baked in thin Arab bread. It is delicious, and you must try it. It can be made in advance and reheated before serving. Use the large-size sheets of fillo (about 19 inches × 12 inches) that are sold frozen, and defrost for 2 to 3 hours; see page 9 for information about using fillo.

These little pies are a famous Lenten specialty; they are deliciously sharp and lemony. A good, commercial puff pastry will do very well for the dough. The pies are wonderful eaten hot and also good cold. You may use frozen leaf spinach instead of fresh spinach. Defrost it and squeeze out the liquid.

These melt-in-the-mouth cheese pies make good party food. They can be eaten hot or warm. You can make them in advance and heat them through before serving. Use fresh or frozen and defrosted puff pastry.

This wonderful, creamy pie is somewhere between a savory flan and a spinach lasagne. The fillo turns into a soft, very thin pasta, so don’t expect it to be crisp and papery. It sounds complicated, but it is quite easy and really worth the labor. I am sure you will be delighted by the result. It can be made in advance and reheated. The pie is excellent when cut up into small pieces and served at a party. Use a package of fillo containing large-size sheets. (I used a 14-ounce package of sheets measuring 19 inches × 12 inches, minus 2 sheets.) The large sheets are usually sold frozen and you need to defrost them for 2 to 3 hours before using (see page 9 for information about fillo). The Turkish kasar, a sharp hard cheese, can be found in Turkish stores but mature Cheddar is equally good for the dish. From the supermarket, you can now buy packages of young spinach leaves, washed and ready to use, but you can also use not-so-young spinach and remove any thick stems, or use frozen leaf spinach.

For this luscious sweet, you need to buy the soft, white vermicelli-like pastry called kadayif by the Turks and knafe by the Lebanese from a Turkish or Lebanese store. In Egypt we called it konafa. I saw this pastry being prepared in a large frying pan in a restaurant in Istanbul, but it is easier to bake it in the oven. It is scrumptious both hot and cold. I even like it days after, when the syrup has soaked and softened the pastry—it keeps well in the refrigerator. You can buy unsalted, shelled pistachios in the same stores as kadayif. In Turkey they use the cream called kaymak (see page 218) but clotted cream is a very good alternative.

This moist, nutty cake soaked in syrup is a modern pastry. Make it at least two hours before you are ready to serve it so that the syrup has time to soak in. You can buy unsalted, shelled pistachios in Middle Eastern and Asian stores.

This pie, made with fillo pastry, can be served hot as a first course, a tea-time savory, or as a snack. Milk sprinkled between the sheets gives it a lovely soft, moist texture. The most common cheese used in these pies is beyaz peynir, or “white cheese,” which is salty and much like feta cheese. Another cheese called lor is like our cottage cheese. I like to use a mixture of the two. For this recipe, you will need large sheets of fillo; I used sheets measuring 19 inches × 12 inches. These are usually sold frozen and need to be defrosted for 2 to 3 hours (see page 9 for information about fillo).

These dainty little rolls, or “cigars,” make ideal appetizers and canapés. The cheese used is beyaz peynir, or “white cheese,” which is salty and much like feta cheese. Use large sheets of fillo measuring about 19 inches × 12 inches, cut into strips, but if the fillo sheets are too thin, the pastry is liable to tear and the filling to burst out during the cooking. In that case, use 2 strips together, brushing with butter in between. You will then need to double the number of sheets. I prefer using only one strip if possible, as it makes for a lighter pastry. (See page 9 for information about fillo.) Serve the rolls hot. They can be made in advance and reheated.

These individual pies are tasty, elegant, and very easy to prepare. They make a perfect light meal, accompanied by a salad.

These are good to serve with coffee or tea.

This splendid Moroccan pastry filled with a ground almond paste is a very long coil, hence the name m’hencha, meaning snake. It is stunning to look at and exquisite to eat. In Morocco, it is made with the pastry called warka or brick (see page 29). This is available vacuum-packed and frozen in North African stores, but turns out tough if it is baked and not fried. It is better to use fillo pastry. I give very large quantities because it is the kind of thing to make for a great festive occasion, but of course you can make it smaller and reduce the quantities accordingly. The finished “snake” will be about 14 inches in diameter. If your oven is not large enough to take it, you can make two small ones. You need large fillo sheets measuring about 19 × 12 inches (and if the fillo is frozen, you will need to allow 3 hours for it to defrost, see page 9).