RFCJ RECIPE ARCHIVE
Posted by : Ruth Heiges Bistilla - dairy, pareve
The Truth About Bistilla Someone posted a recipe for a chicken bistilla to a small Jewish food list, in which I participate, not long ago. Another participant answered, "Oh, I love bistilla," leaving me stymied. Granted, I'm Ashkenazic, but I've lived in Israel for 20 years and have more than a passing knowledge of this region's cuisine, but I'd never heard of bistilla. So, I started with the name, worked backwards, and finally hit upon the fact that this Arabic-sounding word/dish was born in the Sephardic kitchens of Spain, before the expulsion of over five hundred years ago. The summary of the etymology is this. The Arabic alphabet does not have a _P_ equivalent, so words from other languages get the _P_ changed to _B_. For example, the Arabic city of Nablus (the biblical Shechem) was built on the Neopolis of the Hellenistic period. So, mentally, I changed bistilla to pistilla. That led me to _pastelle_, the North African name (in countries such as Morocco and Egypt, where the Jews spoke both Arabic and French) of this meat pie and, finally, a dish familiar to me. At this point, I checked Claudia Rodan's "Book of Middle Eastern Food," and "The World of Jewish Cooking," by Gil Marks. The name _pastelle_ came about when the Jews were expelled from the Iberian Peninsula. The original name came from a popular Sephardic shabbat dish known as _pastel_, Spanish meaning pastry or pie. Other names for it are basteya, mina, pita and pastilla. Originally, a pie-like pastry was the only type used for it. After the expulsion, those who migrated to the Eastern Mediterranean also started using phyllo/filo dough, and both are popularly used today. According to Gil Marks, "It is traditionally assembled in a tin-lined copper pan ... but a large baking dish or paella dish can be substituted." Claudia Rodan refers to the shape of individual ones as "that of a little covered pot, like a tiny English meat pie." Her pie dough recipe is as follows: Dough ~~~~~ 1 pound plain flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 pound butter [pareve margarine for meat fillings --rh] 2 eggs about 2 fluid oz. water 1 egg beaten with 1-2 tablespoons water, to glaze Sift flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Cream the cold butter and work it into the flour, first with your fingers, and then by rubbing the mixture lightly between the palms of your hands. Add 2 eggs and work them in lightly. Add water gradually, working it in gently until the dough forms a soft ball which comes away from the sides of the ;bowl. Stop kneading as soon as this happens. The dough is better for being worked as little as possible. Allow to rest in a cool place, covered with a damp cloth, for at least 1 hour. For pasteles: Take walnut- or egg-sized balls and hollow them out with a finger. Shape them into little pots by pinching and smoothing up the sides. Fill the little pots ... and cover with flat round lids of dough a little larger in diameter than the tops of the posts. Secure them firmly by pinching lid and pot edges together. Pinch and fold over the overlapping edges of each lid to make a festoon edge. Paint the lids (and sides if you like) with a mixture of egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water, and place on an ungreased baking tray. Bake in a preheated slow oven for 30 to 45 minutes, until the dough is well cooked and the pasteles are a warm golden color. A modern labor-saving method for making pasteles is to use a bun tray or individual tart tins. Use deep shapes if possible. Line them with thinly rolled dough, fill, and cover each one with a lid, pressing it on firmly. Brush with an egg and water mixture, and bake as above. The number of pastries varies according to their size, but will be about 30. Here are two cheese and one traditional eggplant fillings: Yellow-Cheese Filling ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 lb. cheese, grated 2 eggs, beaten white pepper Use Greek Halumi, Gruyere, Cheddar, Wensleydale, Edam, Gouda or a mixture of any of these with a little Parmesan; try also Italian Mozzarella. Mix the grated cheese with beaten eggs and season to taste with pepper. White-Cheese Filling ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 lb. crumbly white Greek Feta cheese or about equal quantitites of Feta and cottage cheese 3-4 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley, dill, mint or chives white pepper Crumble the cheese with a fork. Do not use a cream cheese because it melts. Mix in chopped herbs and season to taste with white pepper, but do not add salt unless the cheese requires it. (Feta is very salty, for instance.) Work the ingredients into a paste. Khandrajo (aubergine/eggplant) Filling ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is a Sephardic Jewish filling similar to the French ratatouille. 1 lb. unpeeled aubergines, cut into small cubes salt oil 1 large onion, finely chopped 3 tomatoes, skinned and chopped black pepper Sprinkle cubed aubergines with salt and leave them in a colander for about 1/2 hour to allow the bitter juices to drain away. Squeeze lightly, rinse well and drain. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a saucepan and fry the chopped onion to a dark golden color. Add the aubergines and fry lightly until tender and a little colored. Add the tomatoes and season generously with pepper. Add salt only if required, taking into account the aubergines, which are salty already. Simmer gently, covered, until the vegetables are very soft, then squash them lightly with a fork. Ruth
