{Recipe — sort of — at the end…}
What with lots of wedding sewing, gardening, and general necessary housekeeping, I don't quite have it in me to give you the true, thorough Holy Week rundown.
It's kind of like the Thanksgiving prep (with way more holiness thrown in I'll grant you) so I don't feel too bad, since I did go on and on about that.
Nevertheless, I thought we'd chat about a couple of things. {Please keep in mind that I am a mere housewife and made all this the other night; hence the not wonderfully lit photos.}
I made a big batch of dough, in preparation for the meat pies we have had in recent years upon returning from the Easter Vigil. We used to go to a Mass that lasted well into the wee hours (this was after we no longer had very young children who couldn't handle the Vigil), when our meager, meatless supper had worn well off.
When I saw how hungry, nay, ravenous, everyone was upon our return, I knew I had to come up with something. Something that was like… meat… and pies… and… meat pies!
I used to think that “meat pie” — that simple two-word phrase composed of monosyllables — conveyed some secret culinary mystery that I had no key to unraveling.
Then one day I was walking through the grocery store and saw, in a fridge near their rotisserie chickens, what they called meat pies (they had sliced them in half and wrapped them, so you could easily deconstruct the puzzle for yourself).
Simply put, they consisted of two layers of pizza dough, encasing ground meat shrouded in cheese. Well, heck, I can do that while whistling “The Strife is O'er, the Battle Done” with my rolling-pin arm tied behind my back!
Well, these meat pies are a hit. They talk about them all year. They ask me not to forget about them. I think they dream about them.
All you have to do is get these in the freezer well beforehand, pre-set your oven to turn on a little before you come home, and then pop the (defrosted because you're clever like that) pre-baked pies in while everyone is changing into something more comfy and getting their beverage of choice (that they gave up for Lent, of course). Warm some delicious tomato sauce in a little saucepot, and serve steaming wedges of meat pie with sauce on the side. If it's your main meal, of course salad would be lovely.
Now that Bridget and I are in the choir at another church, where the Vigil starts and ends earlier, I think we may just postpone the evening meal altogether, and make the meat pies the order of the day once we get back. People can keep the wolf from the door before the Vigil with some hearty Arabic meze, like hummus bi tahini, m'hamra, feta cheese, and olives.
And guess what! The dough for the meat pies works to make pita bread as well, and since my thoughts always turn to Egyptian (real Egyptian) food during the fasting times (it's so easy to think of tasty meatless meals if you let your mind wander to the Middle East), I made enough for that as well.
Sure, you can buy pita bread, but the only kind readily available to us here tastes a little chemically to me. At least it doesn't have sugar in it. Flee from any supposedly Arabic bread that has sugar. That could not be more inauthentic! Pita is the original simple bread — only a tortilla is more elemental.
For that matter, you should know that very few Arabic foods combine sugar with savory, other than the occasional dried fruit thrown in, and that would be very rare. The only dish I can think of that has actual sugar in it (contrasted with American food, that incorporates sugar in just about everything), is Bastilla, which is Moroccan, not Egyptian, and a very fancy company dish.
{Therefore I do not quibble with the extremely sweet desserts.}
Okay, onto meat pie/pita goodness.
Do you really need a recipe? Hmmm….
First, you need to make a big heaping quantity of pizza-style dough. I would say that it needs to have 8+ cups of flour in it.
See how I've divided it into five parts? Four are for the two meat pies (tops and bottoms) and one is for the pita bread. Shape each part into a ball by rolling the outside of the lump around the bottom until it all feels round. Then let it rest while you get your meat and cheese together.
Sprinkle a mix of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, about 2 to 1. The mozzarella binds everything together; the parm adds flavor.
Now, you could get fancy with your onions, peppers, mushrooms, and spices, but if you have nice sausage, don't worry too much about it. The idea here is simplicity. It will be late at night when this is eaten, and they will just appreciate the warm meaty goodness of it!
Roll out your top crust, place it on over the meat and cheese, and crimp the edges well with your two hands working alternately, sort of rolling the bottom crust up over the top one and smushing them together.
Bake at 375° or 400° if your oven is a bit on the cool side. Set the timer for 10 minutes, then turn the pie, then 5 minutes more.
Cool completely and, wrapping well in heavy duty foil (one piece on top, one on the bottom, getting all the air out and sealing well), put these bad boys in the freezer.
Now, if you're tired, you can put that other lump of dough in the fridge and deal with it tomorrow. Otherwise, crank the oven to 425°, and get a baking sheet nice and hot in there.
Here are my two tips for nice, puffy pitas:
1. Have a pan of water in the oven, and this goes for all bread-making and pizza-making too. Don't listen to anyone who says that it makes no difference. The nice loft of the crumb, the crackling crust of your loaf, the crisp bottom crust of your pizza — all are due to this pan of water!
2. Roll the dough for pita into even discs of about a scant 1/4″ height. You need the moisture of the dough to raise the pocket, so rolling too thin (or making thin spots) will interfere.
So cut that lump of dough into pieces the size of biggish rolls. Flatten them (also by stretching and rolling) and let them rest.
All but two of mine puffed! And those two sort of puffed. I will need to make more, but this is a good start!
And — don't forget the hot cross buns for Friday!
Vigil Meat Pie Like Mother, Like Daughter
(makes two pies, enough for a big family; dough enough for pies and 16 small pitas)
A big batch of dough (recipe, sort of, below)
A big batch of browned meat:
2 lbs. ground beef (skip the pink slime by getting somewhat fatty ground beef)
1 lb. sweet Italian sausage
1 lb. hot Italian sausage
Brown in a skillet, chopping into smallish bits, and draining the fat.
3 cups mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (grated sharp cheddar is good too, but do make sure this cheese is sharp or there's no point)
Divide the dough into four equal pieces and one larger piece (the four for the pies should be the size of a large grapefruit — sorry, I should have weighed mine! — the other one slightly larger). Set the larger one aside for pita breads.
Roll and stretch one ball of dough to form the bottom crust of the pie, and place on a pizza pan or large cookie sheet. Top with enough meat to cover generously, allowing the fat from the meat to drain back into your bowl (or your pie will be soggy and gross).
Top with half the cheese, and place the other crust on top. Crimp the edges of the dough well so that they are sealed.
Sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese on top of the pie.
Bake at 375° (400° if your oven tends to run cool) for 10 minutes. Turn and bake for 5 minutes more.
Bake the other pie the same way. Cool completely and wrap well for the freezer.
When you are ready to serve a meat pie, take it out of the freezer and let it thaw on the counter or in the fridge, still wrapped. Then remove the foil completely, put the pie back on the baking tray/pizza pan, and heat it up in a 350° oven. If you are worried that it will dry out on top, you can loosely cover it with some of the foil, removing it in the last five minutes. It will probably take about 10 or 15 minutes to get thoroughly heated up.
Dough for pies, pizza, Italian country loaf, and pita bread.
I'm not really able to give you a thorough recipe right now, but the basic idea is to use a pizza dough recipe that calls for only flour, water, yeast, salt, and a small amount of olive oil. Do not ever add sugar to this dough! It just ruins the flavor and there is no reason to do it. Your yeast will work just dandy. I would love to go on about starters and all sorts of things, and I know that sprinkled here and there in my bread posts I have sort of talked about some of it. But here is the “frantic me” version:
A couple of cups of water (100°) or starter (poolish)
Not quite 1 tablespoon of instant yeast (less if you have starter)
1 cup flour (I use all-purpose unbleached)
Whisk these things together and let the yeast proof, 15 minutes.
(I make my dough in the Kitchenaid mixer — you should adapt this process to your mixer/processor/hand/bowl)
Add:
7-8 cups of flour
1 1/2 tablespoons (not a typo) salt
While the machine is running, add two cups warm water with 2 tablespoons of olive oil mixed in. Then add enough warm water to form a dough that is not firm, not runny, but sort of loose. Some day I will make a video for you, but know that the dough will appear a bit unformed to you if you are used to a stiff dough.
As soon as everything is mixed, stop the machine and let the dough rest (autolyse) for at least 20 minutes.
Now knead the dough in the machine for a short while — about a minute or even less, or until it forms something cohesive. You will notice all the lumps disappearing and suddenly it looks like it will be something!
Turn into an oiled bowl or container — at this point it can stay in the fridge for a couple of days if you like.
Warm it to room temperature (the easiest way is to turn it onto a floured board). Now you can divide it for your pies or what have you!
Camille says
Yum! I detest making homemade pitas — it's so monotonous and boring… but oh so worth the effort! My family refuses store bought now. In the summer we make them on the grill to have with grilled chicken.
amyrobynne says
Fascinating idea! I regularly make something that seems similar, but as individual rolls, that have come to be known as Dough Grenades at our house (an idea I got from a friend's mom — my friend was the oldest of 6 and every time she came to visit him in college, she insisted that all his friends join them because she could only cook for a crowd). I like the idea of bigger ones — that cuts out the time-consuming part of making each of them and would allow for a higher meat-to-dough ratio.
If I can arrange a babysitter, it looks like I might be bringing my oldest to the Vigil for the first time this year. He and I joined the church together at the Vigil in 2004 (so I guess he came once, but he was a month old at the time) so it would be extra-special to be there with him. My husband sings in the choir (so I'll be seeing him next on Monday), so I can't ever go to the Vigil without childcare. Peter, my 8 year old, said he'd like to go (I think he's just excited for an excuse to stay up late) and given that he'll have his first communion next month, I'd love for him to experience the Vigil.
Mary Elizabeth says
We have meat pies (tourtiere) in our family after midnight mass Christmas morning, what a great addition to add an easter meat pie after the vigil!
Kelly Heine says
Leila, thanks for your recipes! Just wondering ~ when I warm up the meat pie, do I leave it in the foil, but slit it on top, or take the whole shebang out of the foil and warm it up on a perforated pizza pie pan? I love your blog! Have a blessed Easter Triduum!
_Leila says
Thanks, Kelly, for the question — I added the info to the recipe. Yes, you take the foil off and put the pie back on the pan!
Lisa G. says
Mary Elizabeth above mentions tourtiere – I've made that, but it's with pie crust dough. This is interesting with the pizza dough! I love pita – I'll have to try this recipe.
CC Jen says
Wow! What a fantastic idea. We're a few years from being able to attend the Vigil Mass with our little ones, but this looks so delicious that I'll undoubtedly have to try it before then!
Briana/Justamouse says
SUCH a good idea! I know mine are all going to be ravenous. I'll get on these today.
sibyl says
I would love to do these meat pies for Easter after the vigil, but all the kids have to go right to bed. Also, does anyone else have trouble sleeping if they eat a lot of calories right before bed? Am I the only one? (I'm 41, not 81, but even so.)
I'm going to make these for some festive meal, though!
Thinking of grilled fish for before the vigil. (Ours is at 8 p.m.)
Blessed Easter!
Ashley says
These sound amazing!
sjohnston522 says
This is a good idea. We have the accidental tradition of root beer floats after the Vigil. This came about one year when we left a Vigil (with our two small children) MUCH later than we'd expected and we were feeling festive and munchy and very, very thirsty. The only place open was a 7-11 so I ducked in and came back out with a bottle of rootbeer and a pint of vanilla and now we plan ahead for it every year. But this only works because our Vigil at our small parish is early and short and our kids want to crash into bed when they get home. I'm going to file away the meat pie idea for a few years from now when I need to deal with a ravenous horde for whom soda and ice cream will not suffice.
_Leila says
Meat pies and *then* root beer floats 🙂
When I was a kid they were always made with chocolate chip ice cream… mmm… I need one!
Susan says
I just found my old comment on this post when I came back to look at the recipe again. Only two years later and I’m realizing that my slightly older and more numerous children and the addition of adult house guests means that, in fact, I will have a ravenous horde to feed post-Vigil. And, yes, we will definitely follow these with root beer floats.
Dyan says
Great idea! Thank you for sharing. Your posts are always so informative. and your writing style is so easy to read. You inspire me!
Deirdre says
Last night, John and I were talking about meal planning and I was mentioning how I'm only now coming to appreciate just how much planning goes into all of your food prep. Hilariously, the meat pies that you had ready for us after the Christmas vigil came up; he said that for him, having ham and spinach pie as a “snack” was the point at which he began to wonder whether you had a team of chefs hidden somewhere in the offing!!
Heidi says
I remember being extremely pleased when I discovered that, contrary to my Joy of Cooking knowledge, pita dough did not actually differ from any other dough, it's just the shape and thickness that's different. Such freedom!
Tamara says
I would really love to serve meat pies after our Vigil. BUT! Get this. My parish has a wonderful celebration (read: p-a-r-t-y) after the Easter Vigil. Im talking about food, wine, music, and family-friendly to boot! Our pastor actually makes a concerted effort to encourage even families with young children to participate. So, we take very long late naps, then Vigil & party, and sleep in very late Easter Sunday. Head to grandpa and grandma's for dinner and get back to bed early! 🙂 It makes things a little crazy for a couple of days, but for us, is more than worth it.
Lauren says
Just finished making these for our dinner tonight, before Easter Vigil! Pray for my 4 and 6 year old, that they'll make it through our 3.5 hour Mass! WooHoo!
Amy says
Thank you Auntie Leila! Getting ready for Orthodox Pascha last night, mind blurry and body tired, I didn't have time to make the traditional rich Easter bread for our family's Easter basket which is put with the others in the front of the church, blessed after the liturgy, and then shared to break the fast. Modifying your instructions, I made several smaller meat pies and added them, warm and fragrant, to our basket as we left home. I didn't have any sausage, so I added lots of crushed garlic to the browning beef. They were simple, but hearty and festive. I shared them around after the vigil and everyone loved them. Thank you for the idea and the inspiration. I may have a new family tradition- we shall see.
Fiddlemom says
Thank you SO MUCH for the pita pocket tutorial. I gave up on those years ago because I couldn't make them pocket. My first batch this way I could see that they had tried, but hadn't succeeded – a major step forwards for me. My second batch I had a nearly 100% success rate.
Would you please add some ideas for good fillings? I would really appreciate out and about lunches that are easy, inexpensive, and don't involve peanut butter.
Calee says
We're blessed to have a huge meze after our Pascha service in our Greek Orthodox parish. But! This sounds so good. We live near several fantastic Middle Eastern markets which bake their own bread on site. So if I wanted to just fill their pitas–any ideas? Thanks!
Christina A says
Making these right now! I am a total dough weigh-er (love to consistently reproduce the recipe once I tweak it to my family’s specifications), so I’m wondering if you ever did weigh your balls of dough for the the meat pie crusts and pitas? Thanks for all your fabulous recipes! Oh, by the way, I usually serve roasted zucchini with Italian food, but I’m going to try this with your sauteed spinach/artichoke side. Wish me luck!