Seafood pastilla

Step 1: Mix 1 bunch fresh coriander, 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, 5 garlic cloves, 2 tsp ground cumin, 2 tsp sweet paprika, ½ tsp hot paprika or chilli flakes, 1 lemon, 1 tbsp preserved lemon peel, ¼ cup olive oil and 1 ½ tsp salt into a loose chermoula.

Step 2: Toss 14 oz skinless white fish fillets, 10 ½ oz raw peeled prawns and 7 oz cleaned squid with half the chermoula, cover and marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes, never on the counter.

Step 3: Soak 3 ½ oz rice vermicelli in boiling water for 5 minutes, drain, then snip into 5 cm lengths with scissors.

Step 4: Heat a large frying pan over a medium-high heat, add the rest of the chermoula, 1 tomato and 5 ½ oz button mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes until the mushrooms soften.

Step 5: Add the marinated seafood and cook, stirring, for 4–5 minutes, until the prawns turn pink and the fish is opaque and just flakes. Stir in the vermicelli.

Step 6: Tip the filling into a sieve and let it drain and cool for 10 minutes. Taste: it should be punchy, as the pastry mutes it.

Step 7: Heat the oven to 400°F (fan 350°F). Brush a 26 cm ovenproof frying pan or round tin with 1 ½ tbsp vegetable oil. Lay 6 sheets of 10 warqa, brick or filo pastry sheets overlapping in a flower pattern so they cover the base and hang well over the edge, brushing each with oil.

Step 8: Spread the filling in an even layer, fold 2 more brushed sheets over the middle, then fold the overhanging pastry in towards the centre.

Step 9: Cover with the last 2 sheets, tuck the edges underneath like a bed sheet and seal any gaps with 1 egg yolk. Brush the top with the rest of 3 ½ tbsp vegetable oil.

Step 10: Bake for 25–30 minutes, until deep golden and crisp all over. The common mistake is taking it out when pale; the base should be just as crisp, so check by lifting an edge with a palette knife.

Step 11: Rest for 5 minutes, slide onto a board and cut into wedges.