A round pie of paper-thin warqa pastry filled with spiced pigeon or chicken, eggs and sugared almonds, dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon.
What makes it pastilla
Warqa — a pastry thinner than filo — in many layers.
Meat braised with onion, saffron, ginger and cinnamon; eggs scrambled in the sauce; almonds fried and ground with sugar.
Sweet and savoury at once: icing sugar and cinnamon over the top.
Where it comes from
Pastilla belongs to Fes and is said to have arrived with the Andalusian refugees; the name is often linked to the Spanish pastel. It's a dish for weddings and feasts, traditionally made with young pigeon, now often with chicken.
A seafood pastilla, without the sugar, has become popular in the last few decades, especially on the coast.