Morocco Recipes – Pastilla with Bananas & Apples

Ingredients

• Pastilla pastry or layers of Filo pastry
• 10 Bananas
• 8 Apples
• Runny Honey
• 1 teaspoon Fresh Thyme (chopped)
• ½ teaspoon fresh Lavender (chopped)
• ½ teaspoon of argane oil (optional) alternative is walnut oil
• 1 teaspoon of Cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon of Rosewater (optional)
• 1 cup of Crushed almonds (these have been peeled and blanched)
• 1 tablespoon of Butter

Method

1.
Melt some butter for the pastry.
In a separate pan melt a knob of butter in saucepan with chopped lavender and thyme and 2 tablespoons of honey and a teaspoon of cinnamon. Then add a tablespoon of rosewater

2.
Peal all bananas. Chop the apples.

3.
Add whole bananas to melted butter and glaze. After about 10 minutes add the apples. Then add ½ the crushed almonds.

4.
Get pastry and butter (with melted butter). Make a secure base (2 layers of pastry) fill the pastry case with almonds first (so they soak up the excess juices from the fruit), then the bananas and apples and the finally remains of the almonds. Close the pastry case with more Filo, press down, butter the edges to make it stick.

5.
Place in a hot oven (200C) for 10 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 100C for the final 5 minutes.

Thanks to Chef Moha Orchid from Cookies and Couscous, New York for this recipe