My wife makes me Chicken Bastilla and they are great, this looks good especially for the vegetarians.

APPLE & FIG PASTILLA

Dar Fez restaurant in Marrakech was where I had pigeon Bastilla, the flavours were wonderful, it is a labour of love and Dar Fez is renowned in Marrakech for this dish. I have given my own version using apples and figs, it’s a dish that can be made all year round and if you're lucky enough to have figs in season use fresh figs.

Ingredients

6 Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced
12 dried figs, soaked in water, thinly sliced
20 sheets of filo pastry
Ground cinnamon to garnish
Icing sugar to garnish
60g castor sugar
30g butter
Preheat oven to 180ºC
150g caster sugar
75ml water
100g hazelnuts

Preparation

Place apples, castor sugar and butter in saucepan, cook for 4 mins and drain.

Place 2 sheets of filo in a shallow bowl, leaving a little bit of filo hanging over the edge of the bowl to wrap over the top. Start placing a small amount of apple and fig evenly over filo. Then place 2 more sheets of filo over apple only. Repeat this process 5 more times.

When finished fold over the excess filo and turn out the bastilla onto a tray with greaseproof paper, egg wash evenly and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
When done dust with icing sugar, ground cinnamon and crushed praline (see below).

Praline
Roast the hazelnuts in the oven for about 10 minutes, then remove and allow to cool. Rub them together in a tea towel to remove the skins.

Heat the sugar and water together until it starts to caramelise, the pour over the nuts and leave to cool on a baking sheet.

Smash the nut mix to break it up a little then place in a blender until it is a fine crumb. Place in an airtight container until ready to use.