Phyllo Meat Pie

Pie is almost as delicious as pi is useful. Pi is a mathematical constant that is equal to the ratio of a circle’s circumference to the circle’s diameter. Understanding pi has been essential to scientific and mathematic progress, but it’s nothing new. In fact, ancient civilizations like Babylonia and Egypt had pretty good estimates for pi that weren’t far off.

As interesting as pi is, I still prefer pie. I thought I would try to take pi back to its roots in the form of pie. We’re going back to Ancient Egypt. Okay, probably not that far back, but Phyllo Meat Pie has been around for a while. Phyllo meat pie, also referred to as Egyptian Goulash, is a popular Egyptian dish that is very different than its American counterpart. Phyllo meat pie is a pie made of flaky pastry with layers of savory beef. It can be made in about an hour and tastes amazing!

Here’s what you’ll need for Phyllo Meat Pie (Egyptian Goulash):

Ingredients

1 LB Lean Ground Beef

1/2 Cup Diced White Onion

16 Oz. Frozen Phyllo Dough or Puff Pastry

1/4 Cup Milk

1 Egg

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

1 Tbsp Minced Garlic

1 Tbsp Cumin

1 Tbsp Ground Coriander

Salt and Pepper to taste

You’ll also need a pie plate and a pastry brush.

Once you’ve assembled all of your ingredients, there’s a little bit of prep you’ll need to do. You’ll want to place your frozen phyllo pastry in the refrigerator the night before you intend to make phyllo meat pie. When you work with phyllo, it should be cold but not frozen.

Begin by adding 1 tbsp of olive oil to a pan over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook until the onion is translucent.

Add the ground beef and cook until fully browned. Drain any fat from the pan. Stir in the minced garlic, coriander, cumin, and a little salt and pepper (I use about a teaspoon of each). Set aside the beef mixture.

Now that the beef is done and the phyllo has thawed, you can assemble the base of your pie. Brush the sides and bottom of a pie plate with olive oil to prevent the dough from sticking to the pan.  

Layer four of the phyllo sheets and press into the bottom of the pie plate. You may have to trim the phyllo dough to fit it in the pie plate. The base of the pie needs to be sturdy, hence the layering.

Press the dough up the sides of the pie plate so that about an inch drops over the edge.

Brush olive oil on the phyllo pastry.

Now that the pie crust is finished, we can begin assembling the pie. We’ll layer beef and phyllo pastry to create a layered pie, similar to lasagna.

Spoon about ¼ of the beef filling onto the phyllo dough.

Place four more sheets of phyllo dough on top of the beef filling. Brush the phyllo dough with olive oil.

Now, add another beef layer, followed by phyllo, and then brush with olive oil until you’ve depleted the beef.

Stop once the last beef layer has been placed on the pie. Do not cover with phyllo dough.

Whisk together the egg and milk and pour over the final layer of beef.

Cover the beef with any remaining phyllo dough and fold the excess over the top of the pie.

Generously brush the top of the pie with olive oil.

Place on the center rack and bake at 350F until the dough is golden brown, about 30-45 minutes.

Once the crust is golden brown, remove the pie from the oven. Allow to cool for about ten minutes before slicing and serving! Enjoy!