In the Kitchen: Greek pie

Greek Pie

Originally from Lizzy Dishes Portland (but adapted by me slightly)

Ingredients

----Pie crust
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chilled unsalted butter
1/2 cup water

----Filling
2 lbs ground lamb
1/2 red onion, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon (don't be scared---this is actually a delicious thing to add to meat)
pinch of anise seed (whoops, no anise)
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons lemon juice
8 oz. goat cheese + extra for garnish (I used an 11 oz package)
1/4 cup bread crumbs
3 eggs
fresh oregano
1/2 cup minced kalamata olives
1 leek, cleaned and minced (they are sandy, so be sure to clean thoroughly!)
1 pint cherry tomatoes (I didn't have time to add these, but I'm sure they'd add a wonderful taste to the whole dish)
olive oil

Instructions

1. To make the pie crust, mix flour and salt, cut in butter (or use food processor) and add water. Form into a ball and chill for 2 hours before using. (ha. so...yeah...um...I was running late. Which means I hand-pressed the crust into a pie pan and chilled for about 30 minutes. I'm sure this could have tasted better had I taken more time with it)

2. Preheat oven to 375ºF.

3. To make the filling, add ground lamb to saucepan. Cook over medium high heat. While it is cooking, add the red onion and the cinnamon, cumin and anise seed, salt and pepper.

4. Cook until onions are translucent and the lamb is completely cooked. Drain the meat/onion mixture to get rid of excess grease from the lamb. Add the mixture back into the saucepan.

5. Add the olive oil and the flour. Stir until meat is coated and cook over medium high heat for about 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice and scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

6. While meat is cooling, cut cherry tomatoes into halves, toss in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper and roast in the oven on 450 for 15 minutes, until tomatoes are burst and starting to char. Remove from oven and let cool.

7. In a saute pan, add a drizzle of olive oil and the leeks. Season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium high until caramelized, stirring occasionally, (or they'll get a little, uh, crispy) for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. (all these let cool steps, sheesh. Not meant for people setting up for a party, that's for sure)

8. When the meat is cooled, add the goat cheese, bread crumbs, a few leaves of fresh oregano, 1/4 cup of chopped olives and eggs. Mix together thoroughly.

9. To assemble the pie, add the meat mixture to the empty pie crust. Cover the top of the mixture with the caramelized leeks, remaining olives and roasted tomatoes. If desired, dot the top of the pie with goat cheese (YES! Sometimes the texture of room temperature goat cheese doesn't sit well with me, but this is perfect. So good.)

10. Bake in oven for 1 hour. Garnish with fresh oregano (from the garden, woo!) and serve warm. Preferably to a group of your friends, who will rant and rave and make you feel like a rockstar. (thanks guys! It means a lot!)