Saw this a few years back on tv and just remembered about it

sure it was hugh that cooked it anyway here you go will anyone give it a try ??

pigeon pastilla - Moroccan pigeon pie – serves 4

a Moorish appetizer of Persian origin - looks like it should be a dessert with the sweet exterior, but the sweetness blends well with the savoury interior


for the stew:

6 pigeons, halved
2 onions, chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp grated root ginger
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ras-el-hanout
2 cinnamon sticks
175 ml red wine
4 eggs
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 tbsp finely chopped coriander

for the almond layer:

100g flaked almonds
40g icing sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
good grind of black pepper
20g butter, softened

to cover:

8 sheets of filo pastry
20g butter melted
icing sugar for dusting
more ground cinnamon for decoration

brown the pigeons and onion together in a casserole for a few minutes. add the turmeric, ginger, cinnamon sticks, salt and ras-el-hanout and stir for one more minute.

cover with water, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and cover. leave to simmer for about an hour, until the meat is falling off the bone.

roast the almonds in a dry frying pan for a few minutes until the almonds have started to brown

put the almonds into a food processor with the sugar and cinnamon and blitz to a rough puree, rub in the softened butter with your fingers

remove the pigeon from the casserole and strain the remaining sauce. return the sauce to the pan, add the red wine and reduce to thicken. break the eggs into the thickened sauce and increase the heat to medium-high, turning very slowly to scramble the eggs into the sauce. add the chopped parsley and coriander, pepper and stir

remove all the pigeon meat from the bones and finely shred

spread out 2 sheets of buttered filo, one on the other. sprinkle with icing sugar and cinnamon. add 1/4 of the pigeon meat in a square in the middle of the filo, leaving enough spare edge to fold over and cover the meat. cover with 1/4 of the scrambled eggs and sauce. sprinkle enough ground almond mixture on top to cover

fold over the filo to create a closed square. repeat for other 3 pies

heat oven to 180C

place the pastillas onto a well buttered baking sheet. brush with melted butter and place in the oven for 20 minutes until they are a golden brown. alternatively, deep fry at 170C for five minutes until starting to turn a golden brown

remove to kitchen towel to remove any excess oil.

dust with icing sugar on the top and draw a couple of vertical and horizontal lines with powdered cinnamon, and serve warm