Sweet Almond Chicken Pastry

Prep Cut chicken into 3cm chunks. Dice onion. Mince garlic. Crumble saffron into 2 tbsp hot stock and rest 5 minutes to bloom. Finely chop parsley and cilantro. Toast almonds in a dry pan 4 minutes over medium until deep gold, then pulse in a chopper to coarse crumbs and mix with 2 tbsp sugar and 0.5 tsp cinnamon.

Sear Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a heavy lidded skillet over medium-high 90 seconds. Add chicken and sear 4 minutes turning once, until both sides are deep gold. Lift to a plate.

Build 1 Reduce heat to medium. Add onion and cook 3 minutes until soft. Stir in garlic, ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon, saffron stock, turmeric, salt, and pepper 60 seconds until fragrant. Return chicken with remaining chicken stock, reduce to low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes until chicken is tender.

Build 2 Lift chicken to a board and shred with two forks. Bring the pan sauce to a gentle simmer over medium-low. Whisk 2 eggs and stream into the simmering sauce stirring constantly 90 seconds, until eggs scramble into soft curds bound by the broth. Stir in shredded chicken, parsley, and cilantro off the heat. Cool 5 minutes.

Build 3 Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat 90 seconds. Whisk in cornstarch and 1 tsp sugar until smooth and glossy, then pull off the heat. Whisk egg yolk with milk in a small bowl.

Bake Preheat oven to 400F. Lay 1 sheet phyllo on a parchment-lined sheet pan and brush generously with shortbread butter. Stack 5 more sheets brushing butter between each. Pile chicken-egg filling in the center, scatter almond mix on top, then fold the phyllo edges over the filling like a parcel, sealing seams with egg wash. Flip seam-side down. Brush the top with remaining shortbread butter and egg wash.

Plate Bake 20 minutes until pastry turns deep gold and crisp. Rest 5 minutes. Dust the top with powdered sugar and 0.25 tsp cinnamon in alternating diagonal lines. Drizzle with honey and a squeeze of lemon. Slice in half and serve while flaky and warm.