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Nov. 6, 2009
Rabbi Berel Wein: Choosing to hear
JWisdom.com Zero to 1/60th: How to Empower An Hour with Gavriel Aryeh Sande (7 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick The mullahs' big week
Suzanne Fields A Fallen Wall for Fallen Man
Nov. 5, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet: Three scrumptious -- but simple -- butternut squash dishes
JWisdom.com Hidden Hints: Unlocking Faith & Prayer with Rabbi Jay Yaacov Schwartz (10 minutes)
Nov. 4, 2009
Tom Hamburger and Kim Geiger: Should prayers be covered?
JWisdom.com When God played peacemaker With Rabbi Sroy Levitansky (5 minutes)
Nov. 3, 2009
Martin Peretz: Beware, Barack. Beware, Rahm. Beware, Axelrod
JWisdom.com Are you are closet idolater? With Sara Yoheved Rigler (10 minutes)
Nov. 2, 2009
Paul Greenberg: The Holocaust is now on Facebook
JWisdom.com Abraham's Strange Change With Rabbi Yitzchok Fingerer (5 minutes)
Oct. 30, 2009
Rabbi David Aaron: Secret to Immortality
Caroline B. Glick Silencing dissent in America
Oct. 29, 2009
Lini S. Kadaba: Do tactics avert flu or reduce humanity?
JWisdom.com We Must Revamp our Religious Vocabulary With Gavriel Aryeh Sanders ( 10 minutes)
Oct. 28, 2009
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Atheists in Bubbleland
JWisdom.com Why what we wear impacts who we are With Rabbis Mordechai Becher, Menachem Golberger and Aliza Bulow ( 10 minutes)
Oct. 27, 2009
Paul Greenberg: The United Nations Is Outraged Again, Or: Department of Mideast Static
JWisdom.com The Science of Love With Rabbi Jonathan Rietti ( 7 minutes)
Oct. 26, 2009
The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Damaging disclosures with a twist
JWisdom.com Wisdom and Wonks With Rabbi Eytan Feiner ( 7 minutes)
Oct. 23, 2009
Rabbi David Aaron: Are you ready for the ultimate pleasure?
JWisdom.com Watermark and oneness with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 4 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick Stop using limited powers in a way that expands our enemies' advantages over us
Oct. 22, 2009
Steven Emerson: Terror Cases Share Desire to Kill Americans
JWisdom.com No More More Family Fights --- Really? By Sarah Chana Radcliffe ( 5 minutes)
Oct. 21, 2009
Tonya Alanez: Holocaust denier sues survivor, calling Auschwitz memoir 'vicious lies'
JWisdom.com Meditating Jewishly: A Panacea for Success by Sarah Yoheved Rigler ( 7 minutes)
Oct. 20, 2009
Dennis Prager: Obama and Dalai Lama: Why Israel Worries about U.S. President
JWisdom.com Abraham was not religious By Rabbi Yitzchok Fingerer ( 6 minutes)
Oct. 19, 2009
JWisdom.comWhy Good People Do Bad Things By Rabbi Eytan Feiner ( 7 minutes)
Oct. 16, 2009
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The Perfect Number
JWisdom.com Hearing Voices By Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 5 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick How Turkey was lost
Oct. 15, 2009
Jeff Jacoby: Peace vs. the 'peace process'
JWisdom.com: Former MTV producer and stand-up comedian Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff: Taming a Control Freak (A VERY fast 15 minutes)
Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review

Sweet and savory, crispy and meltingly tender bestilla

By JeanMarie Brownson


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | (MCT) Sometimes one dish haunts you for your whole life. Thirty years ago the wife of the Moroccan Consulate General in Chicago shared her recipe for bestilla with the recipe testers at Cuisine magazine and told us the ins and outs of her country's most beloved dish. Layers of handmade, paper-thin dough encased tender shredded poultry in a highly seasoned herb and egg filling, crispy almonds and a touch of cinnamon sugar. To this day, we remember the lesson, the aromas and the flavors.


We've had a few good versions in restaurants. Each time, the combination of sweet and savory, crispy and meltingly tender persuades us to cook our own.


But busy lives mean little time to spend a whole day in the kitchen. The answer lies in a less complicated version -- one made not with the traditional squab but boneless skinless chicken thighs so readily available now. Store-bought marcona almonds replace the home-toasted almonds and high-heat canola oil replaces a little of the butter to cut richness.


Warkha pastry, the paper-thin, traditional dough cooked on a griddle over glowing embers for bestilla, is best left to the masters. Instead, we rely on sheets of frozen phyllo dough found in most large supermarkets.


In the traditional version, the chicken and egg filling is encased in the dough by a complicated folding procedure on a large round pan. Midway through the baking, the whole bestilla is inverted. Today, we use the old standby metal 13-by-9-inch baking pan. Don't fret over the phyllo layering. It sounds complicated, but the goal is simply to encase the filling in the flaky leaves; you really can't go wrong.


For starters, set out bowls of assorted olives marinated with a little fresh orange juice, grated orange rind and chopped garlic. Serve the bestilla cut into large rectangles on warm plates. Baby spinach, tossed with currants, red onion and a sweet red wine vinaigrette pairs nicely with the spicy chicken dish.


For dessert, melt a little orange marmalade in the microwave and serve it over scoops of caramel ice cream. Offer small cups of sweetened fresh mint tea to ease digestion, freshen the breath and give you sweet dreams until your next bestilla moment.


QUICK COOKING TIP:


The chicken mixture from Step 1 of the bestilla is delicious. For a quick dinner, cut the chicken thighs into 1-inch pieces and simmer as directed. Serve the chicken mixture over cooked couscous.


MOROCCAN-STYLE CHICKEN BESTILLA

Prep: 1 hour
Cook: 1 1/2 hours
Makes: 8 servings

  • 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, about 6 pieces

  • 2 onions, chopped

  • 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted

  • 1/4 cup each chopped fresh: parsley, cilantro

  • 2 teaspoons sweet paprika

  • 1 teaspoon each: salt, ground cumin, cinnamon

  • 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper

  • 1/8 teaspoon ground saffron, optional

  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) margarine

  • 1/3 cup canola oil

  • 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

  • 4 eggs, lightly beaten

  • 12 sheets (about 2/3 of a 1-pound package) phyllo dough, thawed according to package directions

  • 1/3 cup chopped marcona almonds, or regular blanched, toasted almonds


1. Combine the chicken, onions, tomatoes, parsley, cilantro, paprika, salt, cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon, ground red pepper and saffron in a large saucepan or Dutch oven; heat over medium heat to a simmer. Cover pan; reduce heat to low. Simmer, stirring often, until the chicken is tender and juices run clear, about 25 minutes. Remove the chicken with tongs to a plate; let cool. Meanwhile, melt the margarine with the oil in a bowl in the microwave on high, about 30 seconds; set aside. Combine the sugar with remaining 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon in a small bowl; set aside.

2. Heat the onion mixture to a boil; boil gently, uncovered and stirring often, until the juices are mostly evaporated, about 10 minutes. Add the eggs; cook, stirring gently, until the eggs are set like soft scrambled eggs; cool. Pull the cooled chicken into large shreds. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom and sides of at 13-by-9-inch baking pan with some of the margarine mixture.

3. Lay a clean kitchen towel on the counter; unfold the phyllo sheets on it. Cover the phyllo with another clean towel so the phyllo doesn't dry out. Lay a third clean towel on the counter in front of you; place one sheet of phyllo on it. Brush the sheet with the margarine mixture to coat evenly. Top with another phyllo sheet; butter it. Repeat to make a stack of 4. Arrange this stack of 4 phyllo sheets lengthwise in the baking pan. Repeat to make a second stack of 4 buttered phyllo sheets; arrange the stack widthwise in the pan.

4. Spoon the egg mixture into the pan, spreading it evenly. Top with the shredded chicken, then the almonds. Sprinkle with about 1 tablespoon of the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Fold in the overhanging phyllo sheets. Make one more stack of 4 buttered phyllo sheets; use this stack to cover the pan. Tuck all the phyllo sheets into the pan to enclose the filling. Brush top with margarine.

5. Bake 20 minutes; reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees. Bake until the phyllo is golden, about 40 minutes; let cool 10 minutes. Sprinkle the top with the remaining cinnamon-sugar. Cut the bestilla into large rectangles with a serrated knife.

Nutrition information

Per serving: 563 calories, 59 percent of calories from fat, 37 g fat, 12 g saturated fat, 210 mg cholesterol, 30 g carbohydrates, 28 g protein, 647 mg sodium, 3 g fiber


SWEET MINT TEA

Prep: 10 minutes
Makes: 8 servings

  • 2 bunches (about 1 1/2 ounces total) fresh mint sprigs, rinsed

  • 5 black tea bags

  • 2/3 cup sugar

  • 6 cups boiling water


Place mint sprigs in a large ceramic teapot; add the tea bags and sugar. Fill the teapot with the boiling water; stir to dissolve the sugar and bruise the mint a little. Let steep 3-4 minutes; pour through a small strainer into tea cups.


Nutrition information

Per serving: 61 calories, 0 percent of calories from fat, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 16 g carbohydrates, 0 g protein, 5 mg sodium, 0 g fiber

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