Ilana's Pie in Pictures sans ingredients

I really have to learn to fulfill promises sooner... I promised this over a year ago.

Here are the pics from Ilana's version of a greek pie. The ladies in Oakleigh showed her the best pastry to buy, how to roll it, what tin to bake it in. Me, they told me to sprinkle water on top to make the pastry crunchy. Who would have thought water would make it crisp? I'm sure there's some spooky quantum physics going on there - it just doesn't make sense!



















I think the pictures say it all really...

A Pie in Pictures

Ilana finally sent me some pictures of her latest pie and she's included How-to pics! Yippee. Ilana taught me how to make the snail-style pie over the phone. Looking at her pictures I've noticed that I did everything the opposite to what she did. I started on the outside and went in, she started on the inside and went out. She spread innards all round. I bunched it at the end of the pastry. (Her idea makes more sense. This pastry is not hardy) It reminds me of the time we both sat our Logic exam many years ago. I answered every even question and thought it was hard. She answered every odd question and thought it was easy... and we both got the same final result. [Ok, so I'm a glass half empty kinda gal but in my glass the bottom half is empty]. We were both into soups then... and now we're both into pies.

More pictures to come...

Ilana's Cauliflower Pie

So my friend Ilana makes amazing pies. This one sounds great. Ilana! I'm waiting for a picture. I'm hoping public humiliation will prompt a quick response from her. She did send me the recipe though. Warning: She is more Aries that I am so her directions are brief.

Ingredients and Directions:

I roast the cauliflower with cumin and olive oil until all caramelised and delicious.
Mash it with fork.
Mix with cheese of choice.
I used marinated goats cheese but have used ricotta and feta before.
Put in pie.
Scatter with fresh mint.
Bake.
Eat.
Repeat.

[Follow the pastry directions for the lamb pie - It's Ilana's method anyway]

The picture below is my friend Sue's version of Ilana's pie. She used puff pastry, tasty cheese, ricotta cheese and vietnamese mint (coz that's what they had in their garden). Apparently it was a wave-your-arms-in-the-air triumph. I'm awaiting a picture of it's innards.

What kind of pie am I?

I love pies - savoury pies that is. I make them at least once every couple of weeks. I freeze leftovers for my lunches and eat them with a salad at work.

So, this is a lamb pie which has the ingredients of a Moroccan / Middle Eastern lamb pizza but is made in the style of a greek pie, i.e. snail-like in design. It was inspired by the lamb pizza I'm addicted to at St Ali (in South Melbourne) and my friend's lamb pie.

Ingredients:

Minced lamb (500g - 1 kg)
Onions (1 or 2), chopped
Sweet chilli peppers, or capsicum (optional)
Flat leafed parsley, one bunch, chopped
Mint (some sprigs - you decide how much), chopped
Pine nuts (toasted)
Fresh tomatoes, grated (my lazy way of blanching) the skin stays whole, so chuck it out
Tomato paste (1 tbs or 2 or 3). My tomatoes were bland so I used 3
Juice of one lemon
1 tbs of cumin
Chilli (whatever kind and however much)
Thick filo pastry (buy from a greek or middle eastern supplier) or puff or shortcrust, or make your own. I guess thin filo pastry could work but I never use it myself.
Olive oil
Milk (for top of pie)
Sesame seeds
Poppy seeds or Nigella Seeds or both
Allspice
Cinnamon
Garlic, minced

Directions:

(It looks a lot more complicated than it is)

1. Cook onions and garlic till transparent. Add peppers. Cook till soft.
2. Add minced lamb. Try to separate the meat so that it's not clumpy.
3. Add all spices. Throw in them herbs and lemon, salt, pepper, pine nuts and chilli (see not so hard?) and cook until the meat is cooked through thoroughly (about 20 minutes, longer the more meat you have)
4. Grease a pie dish with olive oil. I prefer a round dish for this.
5. Open up one layer of thick filo pastry. (The one I buy is round... sorry I don't have pics... I started the blog after I made the pie!) Imagine that you are about to turn the flat sheet into a sausage roll. So do what you think you have to do to make that happen. I folded the edge of the pastry significantly to make it sturdy enough to hold the hot meat without ripping. Others put less innards in to avoid the rip but I prefer less pastry and more innards. So scoop a ladle's worth of meat onto the pastry... flatten the meat out if the pastry can't handle it in a big clump and roll into a sausage like shape. Make sure there is enough meat to go all the way to the edges.
6. Place your sausage of lamb pie into the edge of the dish. Keep doing this with the rest of the meat and pastry spiraling in as you go.
7. Brush the top of the pie with milk. Scatter sesame/poppy/nigella seeds on top. I know it's overkill but I put all three on top. (There aren't any poppy in the photo coz I ran out).
8. Throw, splodge, scatter? What's the word? some olive oil on the top. Bake in an oven till the top is a nice crispy brown colour (about 25 mins)
9. Serve with tzatziki (yoghurt with dill, garlic and cucumber) or just plain yoghurt; and a salad.