Afghani Samboosak Meat Pie Food

LEBANESE MEAT PIES (SFEEHA)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450ºF.
• Cut the pizza dough into 8 pieces, form the pieces into balls, cover and let sit.
• Heat a nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add the meat, onion, and pine nuts and cook until the meat is browned and the onions are transparent.
• Add the rest of the ingredients, stir until completely combined, and remove from heat. Taste and add more tomato paste or seasonings if needed. Set aside.
• To form the pies: Flatten a ball of dough into a disk. Roll out into a circle about 6" wide and 1/8" thick.
• Place some of the filling - about 1/4 cup - into the center of the dough.
• Fold the edges of the dough over the filling into a triangle, pinching the seams to seal them and leaving a small opening in the center. (You can also fold it into a square, or spread the filling out to the edges and leave the pies flat.).
• Place the pies on a lightly-oiled baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the dough has started to brown.

AFGHANI SAMBOOSAK (MEAT PIE)

Steps:

• Saute the onions and leek in the oil until transparent. Add the meat, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook until done, breaking up lumps.
• Add the cumin and the chopped egg whites and mix well.
• Cut each spring roll skin into 3 strips of equal width (If the dough is not precisely square, use the slightly larger dimension for the length of the strip.) Lay out 3 to 4 strips on your work surface.
• Place a rounded tsp of the meat mixture toward the bottom right hand corner of each strip. Fold that corner diagonally over to the top left-hand corner, forming a triangle. As you fold, be certain that the side of the strip lines up perfectly with the folded portion. Continue as if folding a flag, alternately folding the bottom corners in a diagonal pattern. Seal the final flap with a bit of the flour paste.
• Deep-fry in small batches until golden brown (about 3-5 minutes) and drain on paper towels.

CORNWALL MEAT PIE

Steps:

• Wrap dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30-45 minutes, or until chilled.
• In a bowl or directly in your food processor, mix flour and salt together before adding in cold, cubed butter.
• Pulse for 10-15 seconds, or until mixture is crumbly and butter is the size of small pebbles.
• With the motor running, slowly drizzle in 2/3 cup ice water and pulse until dough ball begins to form. Note: if mixture is too dry, add more ice water, 1-2 teaspoons at a time.
• Once dough is formed, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll it into a large, flat rectangle.
• The key to the dough is to use both butter and shortening (lard is even better); this gives the dough its rich flavor and flakiness, while still keep it sturdy and easy to transport.
• While dough chills, combine beef with potato, turnip, carrot and onion, and season generously with salt and pepper, thyme and rosemary.
• Don't precook the meat. If you have enough veggies, and layer the meat on top of them, they will absorb the fat and flavor. If you do it correctly, your pastry shell will NOT get soggy.
• Preheat oven to 400º F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Remove dough from refrigerator and cut it into 6 equal pieces. On a floured surface, roll each piece out to an 8-inch circle.
• Spoon 1/2-2/3 cup beef mixture into the center of dough, then top with 1/2 tablespoon butter.
• Take the far edge of your dough circle and fold it over the beef, towards yourself, to form a half moon.
• Seal edges with a fork and repeat with remaining pasties.
• Transfer to lined baking sheet and brush the tops of dough with beaten egg.
• You don't have to bake them all at once. You can wrap in fil, then in lastic and freeze. Just defrost as needed and bake.
• Bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned, then lower oven temperature to 350º F and bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Serve by themselves, with gravy, ketchup, or brown mustard.

ALBANIAN MEAT PIE

Steps:

• In a saucepan add the olive oil and fry the onions for 2 minutes before adding the mince and browning.
• Add the tomotoe puree, salt, pepper, paprika, potatoes and beef stock. Bring to the boil, leave to simmer for 10 minutes/ When the mixture has thickered and water boiled away turn off the heat and leave to cool for 10 minutes.
• If using homemade pastry, place a filo pastry disc in a large baking tray and add filling on top the add the second disc on top and seal the edges by tucking them down.
• For premade pastry, layer sheets of filo pastry on top of each other brushing a layer of olive oil after each one before the next one is place down. Once 6/8 sheet are laid add the filling on top. Repeat the layering until a further 6/8 sheets are on top of the filling - olive oil brushed on each one.
• Put a thin layer of oil over the top.
• Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 1 hour or until golden brown.
• Once removed from the oven, pour half a cup of water over the top and half a cup of water around the edges. Cover the meat byrek with two tea towels and leave to stand for 1 hour before serving. You can skip this step if you prefer a crisper pie.

SAVORY MEAT PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F (232°C).
• In a saucepan, cook potatoes in boiling water until tender.
• While the potatoes cook, in a skillet sauté the ground turkey in the oil; drain.
• Into the the cooked meat, stir the scallions, carrot, garlic and the seasonings; remove from heat.
• When the potatoes are done, mash them down, stir them into the beef mixture with the parsley and chili sauce.
• Place one pie crust into a 9 inch pie plate; brush the crust with the Dijon mustard.
• Add meat mixture; top with 2nd pie crust; seal and flute crust edges; cut slits in top crust to vent; brush top crust with milk.
• Bake in preheated oven for approximately 10 minutes; then reduce oven temperature to 350°F (176°C) and continue baking for approximately 25 minutes more or until golden brown.

FAMILY MEAT PIE

Steps:

• Melt butter in a medium saucepan; add onion and cook until softened.
• Add ground beef, black pepper, basil, garlic, flour, gravy powder and barbecue sauce.
• Stir well; add just enough water to come just to the top of the mixture.
• Simmer until gravy thickens, stirring occasionally.
• Remove from heat; set aside to cool completely.
• Place one sheet of puff pastry in a family sized pie plate.
• Pour cooled meat mixture into the pastry.
• Brush edges of pastry with milk.
• Place other sheet of pastry on top; pinch edges; roll excess pastry in for the crust.
• Using a sharp knife, make two small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.
• Brush with milk.
• Bake at 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees Fahrenheit) for around 20 minutes or until pastry has browned.

SAMBOSAS (AFGHAN MEAT TURNOVER)

Steps:

• Brown ground beef in a non-stick pan, seasoning with salt and pepper. When its just cooked through, drain on paper towels to dispose of excess grease. Return beef to pan, along with enough drained oil so it's moist, add the cardamom, cayenne, crushed/chopped garlic and the finely chopped onion. Cook until the onion & garlic is softened and spice is fragrant. Remove from heat and cool.
• To form the sambosas, take about a tablespoon (if using the small wontons, more if using the egg roll size), not too much, ensuing that you can fold the wonton over into a triangle without the filling falling out. Brush one side of the wonton with water at the edge to make a tight seal, using either your fingers or tines of a fork to do this. Make all the sambosas and keep on a sheet covered with paper towels to prevent sticking. You can do all this ahead of time and store covered with Plastic Wrap in the fridge till ready to cook.
• When ready to finish the sambosas, put a nonstick pan or pot onto med/high heat and add enough oil for shallow frying, about half to 3/4 an inch of oil should do it. Shallow fry in batches till golden brown, and drain on a wire rack or paper towels. Sprinkle lightly with salt and serve, best when hot but are good at room temp too. I serve them with my family's chilled yogurt sauce(see other recipe). Not healthy but delicious, even my southern wife and family loves them!
• Enjoy!