“My mom? She’s my all time inspiration,” recipe writer and content creator Arielle Nir Mamiye gushes. “She poured all of her love into her cooking. I would come home from school and smell her za’atar potatoes and her schnitzel.” Arielle learned many recipes from her mother — both Moroccan and Persian, from the two sides of their family.
But there were a few recipes that were only ever spoken of, never made: scrambled eggs with butter and paprika oil, a deboned chicken that’s stuffed and transformed into a roulade, and chicken pastilla (also known as b’stillah), a flaky phyllo pie laced with warm spices that’s a classic of Moroccan cuisine. Tired of only hearing about the pastilla, Arielle asked her mother, Michal, how to make it and set out to create her own version.
Arielle simplified the recipe, swapping braised chicken that’s shredded for boneless chicken thighs she cuts up, and spraying olive oil between the layers of the pastry instead of using a brush, which can tear the delicate leaves. She seasons the whole pie with a blend of coriander, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg. The result is a dish that impresses at her Shabbat dinner table, but isn’t an all-day cooking affair.
Customarily, pastilla is topped with powdered sugar, which may seem out of place to those unfamiliar with the dish. But, when Arielle is asked by her followers if they can leave the sugar off, she insists: “Don't skip it. It really adds to the whole vibe.”
Cooking note: For best results, thaw the phyllo dough slowly in the refrigerator overnight, then let it rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes before using. This will make the sheets more pliable and less likely to tear. Any leftover phyllo dough can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and frozen one more time.
Read about Arielle's family story in “A Moroccan Grandmother’s Love Is Rolled Into Her Couscous.”
