2 bowls: one for meat mixture, other larger one for filing mixture
Cast iron skillet
Parchment lined baking sheet
Rolling Pin
Ingredients
Filling: Meat
1/2#Ground Beef
1/2#Ground Lamb
2Tgood olive oil
1tKosher Salt
1/2tPepper
Filling: Veggies, herbs, cheese, nuts
1TOlive oil
1CYellow onionDiced + sautéed
16ozOrganic frozen cut spinachDefrosted + sautéed
1/2CParmesan cheeseFinely grated, not packed
12OzFeta CheeseCrumble
1/2CDillChop then measure
1/4CMint leavesChop then measure
1extra-large eggslightly beaten
1/4CPanko
1tgrated nutmeg
1tkosher salt
1tfreshly ground black pepper
1/4CPine nutsToasted
Dough
1TRice flourSprinkle on the counter, most of it will the trashed when done
1BoxPuff Pastry
1Egg
1TWater
Instructions
Mise en Place
Defrost the spinach and puff pastry the night before in the fridge.
Heat oven to 350F.
Chop onions, mint, and dill. Place the mint and dill in a large bowl for the filling. Reserve the onions.
Finely grate parmesen, and planer-grate some nutmeg and add to the filling bowl.
Crumble Feta cheese and measure out the Panko, and add to the filling bowl.
Toast pine nuts in a dry cast iron skillet. Then add to the filling bowl.
Prepare Meat
In another bowl combine lamb and beef, salt and pepper, and mix well.
Heat cast iron skillet, add oil and sear the meat. You want to put them in and leave them alone until the side down is browning. This may take ~5+ minutes but increases flavor and is why you should not use non-stick pans for this, we want browning and for the oil to dissipate.
Once the browning starts, flip over and do the others side. Once cooked, remove from the heat and place the meat (not any remaining oil) into the filling bowl. Mix well.
Prep Veggies
Add a bit more oil and saute the chopped onions in the same skillet until translucent. Add the defrosted spinach and mix well. Then once it is cooked, scrape into the filling bowl.
Once everything in the bowl cools down, add in one egg and mix well. If egg is added while hot it will bake into egg pieces, we want the egg to assist with binding.
Pasty Prep + Filling
Open the puff pastry package, and cut the two packages into 12 pieces, 6 per sheet.
Sprinkle some flour on the counter, and roll out each piece
Add filling and carefully fold the dough over.
Crimp the dough, cutting off any left-over.
Create an egg wash with 1 egg and 1T water, then brush each pie.
Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and move into the oven for 1 hour.
Then pull out and let cool for at least 10 inutes.
Notes
This is a wonderfully flavored meat pie, that could also be done by replacing the meat with diced shiitake mushrooms. All the other aspects of the recipe would remain, just replace the meat.