Hi, this recipe is from the Guardian's Food Magazine 'Feast', issue 167 from Saturday 27th March 2021 pg9 by Thomasina Miers, alternatively, it can be accessed online here. This pie was delicious, I loved the spices on the lamb and the sweet tang that the raisins added. It was similar in flavour profile to a Bobotie, quite sweet yet savoury and the crunch of the filo pastry added a nice change of texture. The recipe suggests serving with a meze of vegetables so I served it with a ratatouille (recipe coming soon) and it was really nice. I think it would have also been okay with a green salad e.g rocket, olives, olive oil and lemon juice, tomatoes and cucumber, for contrast with the warm meal, but I enjoyed the vegetable mixture. The pastry was very delicate to deal with, but it worked in the end and I was happy with the result, my only tip is watch out for it browning quickly, as it isn't done on the bottom yet, I took mine out at 30mins when another 5mins would have really helped it because the top was done, the base was still ever so slightly underdone. This can easily be made vegan and vegetarian if you need it to be and is already naturally dairy free, see suggestions below. I hope you can adapt this recipe to suit your personal preferences. Enjoy!
Dietary Info:
-Unsuitable for Vegans {Use lentils or chickpeas in place of the lamb, or if you have a preferred vegan minced meat alternative that will work fine as well. Also, chunks of tofu, seitan or tempeh would be nice in this dish, you can mix and match between suggestions or just use one, either would work. For the pastry, most filo's are vegan such as this one, but some aren't so double check your packet}
-Unsuitable for Vegetarians {see above}
-Dairy-Free
-Contains Nuts {Either add extra dried fruit in place of the almonds or some olives, if you want the crunch of them, you could crumble up some plain tortilla chips and sprinkle them into the layers, if you like}
-Contains Gluten {In place of filo pastry, you could use spring roll wrappers or another rice paper wrapper, or use a G-F pastry, it doesn't have to be filo, and just leave the pie open-topped}
-Main Meal
Prep: 10 min {might take longer depending on chopping speed, I gave myself 2hrs before I wanted to serve and I was done a bit before it needed to go in the oven, so I started to prepare the veg and put that on before putting the pie in as well}
Soak: 10 min
Cook: 1 hr 20 min
Serves: 6
{I used a 23cm spring form cake tin}
Ingredients
-175g basmati rice, rinsed, then soaked in cold water for 10 minutes {If you have a rice preference e.g brown rice, black rice, wild rice then feel free to use that. Also, microwave rice would work well as well if you don't have a sauce pan, I would use 2 packets if you are using it}
-1 big pinch saffron threads {These are expensive, so I didn't get any, instead I added a big pinch of cumin, for some extra flavour and colour}
-Salt and pepper
-4tbsp olive oil {I used extra virgin}
-400g lamb mince
-2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
-2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
-1/2tsp cayenne pepper {I used 1/2tsp Tesco Hot Chilli Powder}
-1tbsp sweet paprika {I used smoked paprika}
-1 tbsp ground ginger
-1tsp turmeric {I used garam masala}
-2tsp ground cinnamon
-75g flaked almonds, toasted in a dry frying pan {I had to use 30g flaked almonds and the rest whole almonds chopped, so I didn't bother toasting them as the chopped ones would already add crunch}
-4tbsp tomato puree
-75g sultanas {raisins or chopped apricots would work fine here as well}
-1 x 270g pack filo pastry sheets (ie, 7 sheets) {I used a ready-roll filo pastry pack}
-1tsp nigella seeds {I used sesame seeds on top, any small seeds would be fine here, larger ones would also work, but the look wouldn't be as nice}
Method:
1: Heat the oven to 160℃/140℃ fan/310℉/gas 2+1/2. Drain the rice and tip into a saucepan with the saffron and a teaspoon of salt. Cover with 350ml cold water and bring to a boil. Cover, turn down the heat to medium-low and cook for 10-12 minutes, until the water has been absorbed (it is best slightly undercooked at this stage). Take off the heat, cover and leave to rest. {Mine rested while I made the other elements e.g meat and arranging filo pastry}
2: Heat a pan over a high heat, add a third of the oil and stir-fry the lamb for five to six minutes, seasoning generously. Once the lamb is darkening in colour and smelling delicious, transfer to a bowl and {Make sure to drain the fat out of the pan as well. I do this into a separate bowl, not down the drain, you can add it to your green been later} add another third of the oil to the pan. Turn down the heat to medium, add the onions, season generously and cook for six to eight minutes, until softened. Stir in the garlic and cook, stirring, for another two or three minutes, then return the lamb to the pan and add the spices and almonds. Stir-fry for a few minutes, so the flavours get a chance to gel, then stir in the tomato paste, sultanas and a cup of water {I added a bit extra as my filo pastry was a bit fiddly so it was starting to look like it would dry out if I didn't add any more liquid} and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
3: Line the base of a medium-sized baking dish with four sheets of filo, brushing each one with the remaining oil and making sure they cover the whole dish and hang over the edges a little. {Be careful as filo is very delicate. I used a 23cm springform cake tin} Fluff the rice with a fork, then spread a third of it over the pastry. {I used a bit more to get a solid layer on the bottom} Top with half the lamb mix, spreading it out evenly, then repeat with another layer of a third of the rice, {Obviously from using more rice before, this wasn't a 1/3 for me} the rest of the lamb and finishing with the final third of rice. Fold the overhanging filo over the filling, then gently scrunch the remaining three sheets and arrange on top, to cover the filling. Drizzle with a little oil, {I used a brush and brushed the oil on} then scatter over the nigella seeds.
4: Bake for 25-35 minutes, {35mins for me, be aware that although the top may brown fast, the bottom of the pie needs to cook as well} until the pastry is golden, and serve with garlic yoghurt, lemon wedges and a meze of vegetable dishes and/or salads. {I served with a ratatouille}
And for the rest of the week …
Make double the mince; it makes a great jacket potato filling and is brilliant added to quick lunchtime flatbreads, with or without the extravagant saffron.
While you're here, I have a Pinterest for all my recipes where you can save them to boards for the future and categorise them into different types of recipe e.g Sunday Dinners, picnic ideas etc. My account is @hazellikestocook, or find the link below. Also, I have a whole blog post explaining this in more detail here and https://hazelscookingandbakingblog.blogspot.com/2021/02/pinterest.html.
https://pin.it/5xDvARk - my profile
This recipe:
https://pin.it/1GU3kZ6
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