Pigeon bisteeya

Wash the pigeons and pat them dry with kitchen paper. Remove the legs and breasts, and season with salt and pepper

Heat 50ml of olive oil in a heavy pan and pan-fry the pigeon legs and breasts until golden brown (you may need to do this in batches)

Add the onions, garlic, ginger, saffron, cinnamon, cumin and chilli, adding more oil if necessary. Stir to coat the pigeon in the spices

Add the sherry and stock and bring to the boil. Once boiling, lower the heat and gently simmer for 45-50 minutes, or until the pigeon is tender. Remove from the heat and allow the pigeon to cool in the liquid

Strain the poaching liquid using a fine strainer and return to the heat. Cook until reduced by half

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. When cool enough, remove the meat from the pigeon, discarding skin and bones, and shred it finely

Allow the reduction to cool, add the egg yolks and whisk until well combined. Pour this mixture into a small saucepan, season and scramble over a gentle heat until creamy and nearly set

Stir in the parsley and fresh coriander, and adjust the seasoning with salt and remove from the heat. Stir the meat into the egg mixture and refrigerate until ready to use

For the crispy almonds, add the rapeseed oil to a pan on a medium heat. Once hot, add the flaked almonds and cook until light golden in colour. Drain on absorbent towel and allow to cool

To make the pies, work with one sheet of pastry at a time, you will need 2 sheets per pie. Lay one sheet on the work surface and brush one half with melted butter and fold in half lengthways. Repeat with the second sheet. Brush the centre of one sheet with butter and lay the other sheet over to form a cross. Place the filo cross in the base of a small pan pushing the filo into the sides. Repeat for the other 5 pies

Scatter 2 tsp of fried almonds over the base of the pies then spoon on the meat-egg mixture until it is level with the top of the pan. Brush the top of the filo with melted butter and then bring the surrounding pastry sides up and over the filling to make a flat surface on each. Refrigerate until ready to bake

Place the pies into the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown

Remove from the oven and turn out the pies from the pans and onto plates. Sprinkle with cinnamon and icing sugar and serve immediately