Chicken, bacon and butternut squash pie
"A filo parcel filled with chicken breast pieces, smoked bacon lardons, pine nuts and butternut squash. Save yourself time by buying in the filo pastry.Equipment and preparation: you will need a cotton sheet, a 26cm/10½in savarin mould, a food mixer with a dough hook attachment and a spice grinder...."
INGREDIENTS
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For the filo pastry:
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2 tsp ground turmeric
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400g/14oz plain flour, plus 2 tbsp flour, for dusting
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1 tsp salt
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2 tbsp olive oil
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cornflour, for dusting
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250g/9oz unsalted butter melted
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For the ras-el-hanout:
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1 cinnamon stick
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1 tsp black peppercorns
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1 tsp coriander seeds
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1 tsp cumin seeds
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1 tsp green cardamom pods
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 1/2 nutmeg, freshly grated
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 1/2 tsp ground allspice
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1 tsp ground ginger
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1 tsp ground turmeric
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2 whole cloves
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2 blades mace
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 1/2 tsp nigella seeds
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 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
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1 tbsp rose petals
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salt, to taste
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For the filling:
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600g/1lb 5oz butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3cm/1Â 1/4in cubes
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3 tbsp olive oil
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3 large red onions, sliced into half rings
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knob of butter
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150g/5Â 1/2oz smoked lardons
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900g/2lb chicken thighs with skin removed and reserved, meat chopped into bite-sized pieces
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100g/3Â 1/2oz pine nuts, toasted in a dry pan
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To decorate:
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20g / 3/4oz pork scratchings
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10g fresh coriander, leaves chopped
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2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted in a dry pan
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2 tsp grains of paradise (West African spice available from specialist spice suppliers)
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handful baby spinach leaves
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1/4 pomegranate, seeds only
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