Kreatopita - Meat pie
Ingredients
500 g lamb mince
3 leeks
100 g kefalotiri or pecorino or parmesan cheese, grated
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 eggs, beaten
¼ cup parsley, chopped
1 tsp cinnamon, ground
1tsp allspice, ground
1 batch of filo pastry
Method
Heat oven to 180C and oil a 28cm shallow baking dish.
Wash and dice leeks (the white part) and sweat with a little olive oil. Add the mince and cook until just browned. Season with salt and pepper and add the spices and parsley. Set aside. When cool, add the cheese and the eggs and mix well.
Cut the dough into 7 pieces and shape each one into a disk as flat as you can, using your hands. Oil each disk and rest for 15 mins.
Make a pile with 4 disks and roll to about 5mm thickness and large enough to cover the base and sides of the baking dish.
Roll out and stretch (once it is thin enough you can use your hands to gently stretch the dough) each remaining disk (3 in total) so each is large enough to cover the pie dish (30-35cm diameter). You now have one thicker piece for the base and 3 thin pieces of pastry for the top. Lightly oil each piece.
Place the thicker filo pastry sheet at the bottom of the baking dish, so that the base is covered and the remaining pastry hangs over the edge. Brush the base and sides with oil and add the filling. Cover the top with the three remaining sheets, one on top of the other and the fold over any of the overhanging filo until you have a pie with a slightly messy looking top layer.
Brush with olive oil. Mark each piece of the pie by cutting the top of the pie into wedges or squares depending on how you want to serve. Wet your hands and sprinkle the top of the pie with water. Bake for 30 to 40 mins or until golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.
