Promises, Promises

Instead of cleaning up the mess my kids made today and washing the dishes, I am going to sit down here with a cup of Turkish Sour Cherry juice (thanks, Kari!) and fulfill a few old promises. Emma wanted the recipe for lemon scones, and I did promise to post that b'stila recipe, too. Buyurun. (Here you are.)

Buttermilk Scones- recipe given to me by my sister Tona in 1999. Original source unknown to me. One of my favorite recipes.

2 c flour
1/4 c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp orange or lemon zest
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 c butter
1 beaten egg
1/2 c buttermilk (or scant 1/2 milk with 1 tsp lemon juice in it)
optional: 1/4 c raisins, dried currants, or cranberries

2 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp buttermilk or milk

Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, zest, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter until it resembles course crumbs. Make a well in center and set aside. In another bowl, combine egg, buttermilk, and raisins. Add egg mixture all at once into the well. Using a fork, stir until just moistened.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Lightly knead 10-12 strokes. Pat out into a 7-inch circle. Using a sharp knife, cut into 12 wedges. Place them 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush the scones with buttermilk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 400º for 12 minutes until golden. Remove from baking sheet and cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Serve warm. Makes 12 scones.

Lemon version: (similiar to the kind purchased at a favorite bakery in Boston) Don't brush with milk and sugar. Instead, drizzle with a lemon juice/powdered sugar glaze while still warm.
---------------

B'stila B'djej (chicken ba-STEE-ya) by Kitty Morse. I think everyone should have the privilege of tasting this unique dish.

Filling:
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
6 chicken thighs (boneless and skinless)
3 chicken breasts (boneless and skinless)
1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro
1/4 tsp ground tumeric
8 threads saffron, toasted and crushed
1 cup water
1 tsp ground ginger
1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2/3 cup powdered sugar

Almond mixture:
1/2 cup whole blanched almonds
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

12 sheets phyllo dough, thawed
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
Cinnamon and powdered sugar for garnish

Ok. There's the ingredient list. Still want to make it? I'll outline the directions. Seriously, one could spend most of the day on this dish (especially if I'm blanching the almonds myself, etc.), but it is SO, SO, SO good.

Cook the first 11 ingredients together till done. Lift out chicken. Add eggs, salt, pepper, and sugar to the pan and cook till scrambled. Shred chicken and return to pan. (This can all be done ahead and refrigerated if needed.)

Grind the almonds (or use Trader Joe's almond meal) and mix with cinnamon and sugar. Set aside.

Build the b'stila by layering 12" round phyllo sheets (3 at a time with butter in between each one) in this manner: phyllo, almond mix, phyllo, chicken mix, phyllo, almond, phyllo. Tuck all phyllo edges under the bottom. Bake on a buttered pizza pan for 25 minutes. Garnish with patterns of powdered sugar and cinnamon.

I find that I always have enough chicken mix left over to make another one, so I double the almond mix and the phyllo- or half the chicken mix. You can make this and freeze it (tightly wrapped) for 2 months. Just bake it an extra 10 minutes if it's frozen.

Enjoy!