Cephalonian Meat Pie

David de Jongh's Cookbook

Cephalonian Meat Pie

Adapted from The Foods of the Greek Islands by Aglaia Kremezi. This is a wonderful dish with lots of individual flavors that come through as you eat it. Serve with steamed new or sliced golden potatoes and cauliflower, peas or plain green beans.

Note: This is a two-day operation! As there is so much effort involved, I generally make two 9" pies (one to eat over two days, one to freeze), and that is what these quantities will make. Each pie will yield six generous servings.

You will need two medium glass bowls to marinade the meat, preferably overnight.

Mix the lamb with 2 tbps of the oil, half the garlic, half each of the rosemary, thyme, ground allspice and half the pepper flakes. I use whole allspice and grind it in a mortar just before use. I also use fresh rosemary as I grow it in the garden.

In a separate bowl, mix the pork and veal with 2tbps of the oil, half the garlic, half each of the rosemary, thyme, ground allspice and half the pepper flakes, i.e. the same mixture. Cover each bowl with cling film and refrigerate overnight. If using frozen dough, leave in the fridge to thaw

In a large covered skillet, heat the remaining oil and sauté the shallots, about 4-5 minutes (you can use onions if you can’t get shallots, but shallots have a more delicate flavor). Using a slotted spoon, remove the shallots from the oil and transfer to a large bowl. Add the lamb to the oil and sauté until grayish brown all over, 4-5 minutes. Transfer the lamb to the bowl with the shallots.

Sauté the pork and veal mixture about 4 minutes. Add the wine and tomato paste and cook for another minute. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and rice, then transfer everything to the bowl with the lamb and shallots.

Add the cheese, stock, parsley, dill, orange zest, cinnamon and salt to taste (probably about a rounded teaspoon; less if you use canned tomatoes). Add the eggs and mix well by hand.

Roll out half the pastry and use it to line a 13"x9" dish, or two 9" diameter pie dishes. Fill the pie(s) with the mixture, roll out the rest of the pastry and cover. You can use plain milk to seal and brush the tops of the pies, but I generally mix a small egg yolk with a little milk, which gives a nice golden color.

Cook for 15 minutes at 450, then reduce temperature to 350 and cook for another hour. Leave in the oven an additional 15 minutes after turning off, then remove from oven and let sit another 30 minutes at room temperature. If you are making a single, deep dish pie, you may need to extend the cooking time by 20 minutes. Cover the pie lightly with foil as soon as the pastry turns golden brown.

Refrigerate leftover pie and heat in a 350 oven for about 20-30 minutes, or microwave 7-10 minutes on medium-high.

1lb lamb, trimmed and cut into strips, about ¼" square x 2" long	⅓ cup Arborio rice
½lb ground pork	1½ cup grated Romano or other hard, sharp cheese
½lb ground veal	1 cup beef or chicken stock or broth
½ cup extra virgin olive oil	1 cup packed chopped fresh parsley (remove coarse stems)
4 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped	½ cup chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon each dried rosemary, thyme, ground allspice, cinnamon	1 tbsp grated orange zest
½ teaspoon dried red pepper flakes	Salt
2 cups sliced shallots	2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup dry red wine	½ cup of milk
1 tbsp tomato paste	1lb flaky pastry or 1½ lb frozen puff pastry dough
1 lb ripe or canned tomatoes, cubed