Phyllo Meat Pie

My brother-in-law John, is crazy about meat pies. It’s sort of a joke between Paul and I because every weekend, it seems, John is telling us a story about how he was hunting down more meat pies in far flung locations. I wish I could find a “Will travel for meat pies!” bumper sticker, because he needs one.

I’m pretty sure John doesn’t even realize that he is obsessed with meat pies, so I’m kind of letting the cat out of the bag here. But, the other day, after one of his, “So, I was on the south side and man, this meat pie I had was…” stories, I decided that I really should look up recipes to try out on our meat pie connoisseur.

Of course once I dove down the rabbit-hole (i.e. internet) looking for recipes, the meat pie that appealed most to me didn’t look much like what I had been looking for in the first place. I found a recipe for a phyllo-crusted ground beef pie with allspice and onions. Two things intrigued me about the recipe. First, you only have to brush every third or fourth sheet of phyllo with butter or oil, saving both time and calories. And second, just before putting it in the oven you pour a milk and egg mixture over the whole thing.

For years, I was intimidated by phyllo dough - all those paper thin sheets! But I’ve learned that using store-bought phyllo could not be easier.  Easy enough to make this phyllo meat pie on a weeknight, no problem. Once I started the process, I changed a bunch of things, added two types of cheese and za’atar spice mix for more flavor oomph.  

I still haven’t found the perfect recipe for the steak and ale pie of John’s dreams - feel free to send me yours - but my Paul and I really enjoyed this version.  Now I’m thinking that we should host a meat pie contest at Paddy’s on the Square. Grand prize is a date with John (kidding, well, maybe...).

Phyllo Meat Pie

serves 8

adapted from this recipe

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
• ½ teaspoons allspice
• 1 teaspoon za’atar
• 4 sprigs of fresh thyme, minced (optional)
• Salt and black pepper
• ⅔ cup grated mozzarella
• ⅔ cup ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
• 16 sheets of phyllo
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350F.

Add onion to a large saute pan and cook over medium low heat until it starts to turn transparent, about 5 minutes.

Turn heat up to medium high and add ground beef, salt and pepper, za’atar, allspice, thyme and crushed red pepper (if using).  

Cook until lightly browned and almost cooked through. Add garlic and cook 1 or 2 minutes more. Set meat mixture aside.

Melt butter and combine with olive oil in a small bowl.

Spray inside of baking dish with cooking spray and line with 3 to 4 sheets of phyllo dough, letting excess drape over the sides of the dish.

Brush top sheet of phyllo with butter-oil mixture.

Layer 3 to 4 more sheets on top and brush with butter-oil mixture. Repeat layering and brushing once more for a thicker crust.

Pour meat mixture into baking pan over the phyllo.

Dot with spoonfuls of ricotta and top with grated cheese, cilantro and parsley.  

Repeat layering of phyllo sheets to form the top crust of the pie, brushing with butter-oil mixture every 3 to 4 sheets as necessary.  

Fold overlap onto the top of the pie and sprinkle with salt.

With a sharp knife, cut through the top layer of the pie to form serving-sized squares. Do not cut all the way through the bottom sheets of phyllo.

In a separate bowl, beat egg and milk lightly and pour mixture evenly over pie.

Place pie in the middle rack of the oven and bake for about 45 minutes or until it is bubbling and golden brown on top.

Serve warm.

Irish Foods in Abundance

Check out all the stuff we got for Easter!  My father-in-law arrived at our house on Easter Sunday with a shopping basket full of treats for our family. The best part was that, unlike all of the Easter goodies from egg hunts and other activities, this time, most of the treats were for me. Porridge, honey, preserves, lemon curd, gravy mix, mint sauce, mustard, flapjacks, a few types of tea and more, with just a little bit of candy thrown in for good measure. 

Paddy was also kind enough to bring some cooked lamb, against my advice (I had told him we would have PLENTY of food - famous last words).  I was glad he didn't listen because our small group was quick to devour all of the lamb along with an entire 3 pound Irish boiling bacon.  It was the first Holiday in many years where we had no leftovers. It was also the first time that I prepared the Irish bacon from start to finish, although admittedly, there's nothing to it. 

All you need to do is open the package, place the bacon in a large pot and cover it with cold water. I added bay leaves, peppercorns, garlic and a little sugar (per Paddy's instructions).  Then you bring the water to a boil.  Once it comes to a rolling boil, turn the heat down and simmer the bacon for about 40 minutes per pound.  That's it. The best part, except for the deliciousness of the bacon, is that you don't need to turn on the oven. Or, in the case of a holiday, you can use your oven for roasting potatoes or warming up other sides.

I happen to know that cooked bacon travels well too.  The reason I've never made one before is because Paddy usually cooks one at his house and brings it over, still warm, wrapped in foil. 

Emmett, who just turned 5, has finally started to come out of his toddler, picky-eating phase and declared that, although the bacon was his favorite part of the meal, he was excited by the discovery that he now also likes roasted potatoes and lemon cake! I know, I know, neither of those things are particularly nutritious, but I'm happy to see his recent willingness to try new things. I've been telling myself for years now that he will not live off carbs and sugar alone for the rest of his life.  And, it may have been the potatoes and lemon cake that led him to try the soup last night which helped him to make the determination that he now likes carrots. It's like food-aversion dominoes at our house lately. I love it! 

Lemon Sunshine Cake with lemon curd filing and whipped cream frosting. 

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter.  We cannot wait for it to start to feel like spring around here! 

Jam Steamed Pudding

There are a lot of things we can learn from our kids.  A WORLD of lessons. Lately, I’ve been thinking about how they are motivated by so many of the same things adults are.  Yet, they lack the self-consciousness to hide their desires, what makes them happy, or the gravity felt over small, everyday disappointments. This can teach us a lot about how we interact with all of the people in our lives, big and small.

On birthdays while we eat cake, we talk about the ways in which the birthday boy or girl grew that year.  Each person at the table tells the birthday girl/boy something they like about them. Since Emmett’s birthday was at the end of February, his experience hearing all of the things his family members love about him is fresh.  And he reminds me all the time of how much he enjoyed hearing those things. Which, in turn, reminds me that I should spend a lot more time telling the people I care about it what I like about them. So that’s a late arrival to the New Year’s Resolution list.

Although I could do better in this regard, and I intend to, I already do one thing to express how I feel about my family and friends. I cook for them. This particular recipe, much loved by Paul and the kids, is just that sort of thing. It’s the taste equivalent of a warm hug. All comfort and simplicity.  

I’ve taken a recipe by Rachel Allen (also featured here and here) and adapted it to the pressure cooker so that’s it’s easy enough to whip up on a weeknight. Although, if I’m being honest, I never have the energy to make scratch desserts on a weeknight - which is probably not a bad thing.

Jam Steamed Pudding

Adapted from Rachel Allen’s book Bake, serves 10-12*

*I actually halved this recipe which feeds six adults or 4 adults and 3 littles

• 7 ounces of butter, room temp
• 7 ounces of sugar
• Zest of one lemon
• 3 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 9 ounces all purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 3 tablespoons buttermilk (or milk with one teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice left on the counter for 15 minutes)
• 4 ounces of jam of your choice (Rachel uses raspberry, I used strawberry because that’s what the kids like best)

Prepare a heatproof container that fits into your pressure cooker by spraying with cooking spray. I used a glass pyrex bowl.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter, sugar and zest together until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

Add vanilla and eggs to the butter-sugar mixture one at at time until thoroughly combined.

Add dry ingredients to the egg-butter-sugar mixture until just combined.

Gently stir in buttermilk.

Add jam to the bottom of your prepared bowl.

Pour batter over jam (batter is very thick and stiff, this worried me, but it was all good, Rachel knows what she’s doing).

Fold a long piece of foil in thirds and place under your bowl.  This will serve as a handle for you to lift the pudding out of your pressure cooker when once it is done.

Place the steamer insert into your pressure cooker and pour 2-3 cups of boiling water into the bottom of the cooker.  

Using your foil handle, slowly lower the bowl into the cooker.

Close the lid, leaving the valve open, set the cooker to simmer and set a timer for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, close the valve on the cooker, and cook for 35 minutes at high pressure, letting the pressure reduce naturally at the end of cooking.

Once the pressure has gone down.  Open the lid of the cooker and carefully lift the pudding out, using your foil handles.

Allow pudding to rest about 10 minutes before inverting onto a plate.

Serve with generous lashings custard.