we ate a lot of tagine and couscous in morocco, but what really stood out for me was a dish called pastilla… which according to wikipedia, it’s actually an andalusian meat pie that migrated to north africa, and became popular there.

pastilla is a bit tricky to figure out, because being small and simultaneously savoury and sweet, it straddles the border between entrée, main course and dessert. all i know is that it’s delicious! the meat (traditionally pigeon, but mostly chicken these days) is mixed with roasted almonds, eggs, saffron and other spices, covered in super crispy dough sheets, and finally dusted with sugar and cinnamon before serving.

the result is a fragrant pocket of goodness… though it can be a bit tricky to dig into!

so it’s a bit of work, but when you finally manage to get a piece of it inside your month, it’s a-ma-zing!

bon appétit! :P