Meat and Rice Pie
Christmas Recipes Pork Budget Recipes Greek
Meat pie like in Kefalonia, following the recipe brought from the island.
The filling is delicious. I tried it this summer in Kefalonia just once. It was over 30 degrees then and it was hard to eat, but now it's just right. I've already butchered the pig, so I chose to use 100% pork.
The crust made with oil is flaky, although harder to work with than one made with butter. It's harder to roll out, but it's not sensitive if overworked. And it has the great advantage of not getting soggy quickly during baking even if the filling is more liquid. And it doesn't need to be chilled!
Ingredients
Crust
500g all-purpose flour (type BL55/550)
200ml oil (olive oil)
180ml water
1/2 teaspoon salt
Filling
600g ground meat (pork or mixed)
60g short-grain rice
1 larger onion (about 150g)
2 garlic cloves
2 level tablespoons tomato paste
50ml olive oil
125ml broth
1 egg
1/2 bunch parsley
4 sprigs marjoram
10 mint leaves
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
salt, black pepper
Servings: 6-8
How to prepare meat and rice pie
- In olive oil, sauté the finely chopped onion just until soft. Add the rice and let it sauté for a few minutes, until the rice becomes translucent. Add the garlic and tomato paste and sauté for another 2-3 minutes.
- Pour the onion mixture over the ground meat (passed only once through a meat grinder with large holes; shouldn't be too pasty). Add the remaining ingredients (broth, egg, chopped herbs, cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper). Mix until combined.
- In a large bowl put the flour and salt for the crust. Mix. Pour the oil over the entire surface. With a fork, mix until clumps form. Gradually pour the water (one tablespoon at a time) while mixing the dough, just until all the flour sticks together. Then put the dough on the work surface and knead by hand a few times until the dough becomes more uniform.
- Divide the dough into two pieces (one slightly larger than the other).
- Roll out the larger piece into a thin sheet that fits in a 28 x 18 cm pan and goes up a few cm on the sides (the sheet should be about 35 x 25 cm). The easiest way is to roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper. If needed, you can press the dough to go up the sides, and if it tears you can patch it - it's not as sensitive as butter-based dough and won't shrink during baking. The dough is hard to roll out and looks somewhat oily, but it's fine.
- Pour the filling into the pan and level it with a fork.
- Roll out the second sheet to fit on top. Leave the edges of the first sheet over it to seal the filling. Prick the pie in several places with a fork. Brush the top of the pie with a little milk.
- Bake at 180°C (360°F) for 1 hour and 20 minutes (until golden on top).
- Cut the pie into 6 or 8 pieces with a serrated knife (bread knife) and serve warm with green salad. It's good reheated.
Meat and Rice Pie
Meat and Rice Pie
Meat and Rice Pie
