Tourta Kritiki Cretan Easter Lamb Pie Recipes

TOURTA KRITIKI (CRETAN EASTER LAMB PIE)

Steps:

• Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. In a medium bowl, combine 4 cups of the flour and 1 teaspoon salt. Make a well in the center. Add the yeast mixture, the 1/4 cup olive oil and 2 eggs, very well beaten. Stir with a fork from the center outward until a dough begins to form. Lightly dust a work surface with flour. Knead the dough until silky to the touch, 10 to 12 minutes, adding more flour if necessary. Grease a bowl with olive oil. Place the dough in the bowl, cover, and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
• In a heavy skillet, heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the scallions, and saute over medium heat until wilted. Add the lamb. Season with cinnamon, salt and pepper. Brown, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes.
• Combine the anthotyro or ricotta with the shredded gravieri cheese. Stir in 1 egg.
• Lightly oil a 9-inch springform pan. Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the first half to a circle about 13 inches in diameter. Place on the bottom of the pan, and lightly press around the sides. There should be at least an inch of dough hanging over the pan's top rim. Spread half the lamb on the bottom of the pan. Spread half the cheese mixture evenly over it. Repeat with the remaining lamb and cheese. Roll out the second half of the dough, and place over the filling. Trim the edges, leaving 1 to 1 1/2 inches of dough hanging over the outer sides of the pan. Roll up the dough to form a rim of crust around the top of the pan. Cover, and set aside for 45 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat the remaining egg. With a sharp knife make four slits in the surface of the dough. Brush the dough with the beaten egg, and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for about 50 minutes, until the pastry is golden and begins to separate from the sides of the pan. Cool slightly on a rack. Remove the sides of the pan just before serving.

GREEK LAMB PIE

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 400°F.
• Lightly grease a 8 1/2 in springform pan.
• Fry the mince and onion in a dry nonstick pan until golden.
• Add the garlic, tomatoes, mint, nutmeg and seasoning.
• Bring to the boil, and simmer, stirring occasionally until most of the liquid has evaporated.
• Wash the spinach and remove any tough stalks, then cook the leaves in only the water clinging to them for about 2 minutes.
• Drain the leaves well and then mix through the meat mixture.
• I sometimes add 1/4 lb of crumbled feta at this stage.
• Lightly brush each sheet of phyllo pastry with oil and lay in overlapping layers in the tin, leaving enough over hanging to wrap over the top.
• Spoon the meat and spinach mix in then wrap the pastry over to enclose.
• Scrunch up any remaining pastry into balls, and place over the top of the pie.
• Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and then bake for about 25-30 minutes or until golden.
• I like to let this cool a little, and serve it with a green salad.

CRETAN MEAT PIE (KREATOTOURTA)

Steps:

• Dough (traditional way): Put the water in a large bowl and sprinkle it with the yeast. When you see some small bubbles on the surface of the water, you know that the yeast is working. Add the salt and oil. Mix this into the water, and add about 3 cups of flour to make dough. Add enough flour to make smooth, elastic and not very sticky dough.
• Dough (with kneading machine): I throw everything in the kneading machine for 10 minutes and it works perfectly, but I cannot assure you that it would be the same for you.
• Let the dough rise a little before putting it in the baking dish (20 minutes is enough).
• With 1/2 of the dough, roll out a piece to line a 34 cm tin (2 cm for folding).
• Place it on the greased baking tray.
• Season it with salt, pepper and oregano, according to taste.
• Place the meat chunks on it evenly.
• Sprinkle the mizithra over the meat, so that it spreads evenly over the pie.
• Sprinkle the mint over the cheese.
• Roll out another piece of pastry with the remaining dough.
• Cover the pie with the dough and seal it around the edges.
• Make a small opening at the top and bottom of the top pastry sheet (to let out trapped air in the pie while cooking).
• Brush the pie with the beaten egg and sprinkle sesame seed all over it.
• Cook the pie in a moderate (180°C / 350°F) oven for approximately 45 minutes; only the pastry needs to be cooked, while the meat and mizithra cheese will amalgamate inside the pie with the heat.
• Note: I used lamb meat cooked with my mastelo Recipe #440773 and some of this juice. Just prepare more than for a single meal. This keeps in refrigerator for 3 to 4 days at least. After this time the juice will be a jelly. I cannot find mizithra here, but I get the Turkish "çökelek" (a skim-milk cheese precipitate) which is dryer than mizithra; for this reason I use more meat juice.