IHCC -Greetings Ottolenghi ! Thanks for Sunday Night Supper!

Ottolenghi's Sweet and Spicy Beef and Pork Pie

Two weeks ago, what started out as a search for some good Indian recipes turned into the introduction to a new blogging group that concentrates their cooking efforts on researching and cooking one particular chef's work for an extended period of time. The I Heart Cooking Club was finishing up a period of time in which they had concentrated on Madhur Jaffrey's cooking and announced that they would be moving on to the work of Yotam Ottolenghi.

HMM! There has been quite a bit of chatter on-line about Ottolenghi over the last year. Between talk of his restaurants, his interesting take on fresh vegetables and use of spices in new and interesting ways, the cook book called Plenty, and his latest cookbook called  Jerusalem , I was intrigued to see just what all the excitement was about. I went here and after giving it some thought, I decided to join up.

SO! this first week of concentrating on good old Yotam is free and easy ... anything goes! So I looked around for an easy and cozy supper ... it was an easy and cozy day around the grey cottage today. Day of rest and all that .... the Red Sox were finishing up a series in Toronto, my little quilting project was a lazy way to enjoy the game, a few breaks made it easy to work up the supper recipe while others took it reallllly easy.

How anyone could sleep through the spicy smells given off by this combination of ingredients is beyond me, but snore he did! So, while Silent Bob snored away, I mixed up pie crust, browned and spiced beef and sausage, fried up onions and toasted pine nuts, and when the Red Sox game was over, I put together the coziest Spicy and Sweet Beef and Pork Pie for Sunday supper. 

This recipe had several steps, but everything comes together easily and by the time the pots and pans were washed, there was a nice bowl of steamed green beans waiting to sit by big slabs of the hot meat and egg pie. Totally warm and cozy ... I could see making this pie for a brunch and having home fries and platters of sliced oranges with a drizzled honey sauce. It's full of spicy heat and the comfort of runny eggs and crunchy crust. Delish!

Sweet and Spicy Beef and Pork Pie

an adapted Yotam Ottolenghi recipe

Serves 3 or 4 OR 2 really hungry folk

Ingredients:

4 tbsp. olive oil

250 g. ground beef

250 g ground sausage (I used sweet sausage)

1 ½ tbsp. tomato paste

1 tsp. honey

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1 tbsp. fresh mint, minced

1 tsp. ground allspice

½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. nutmeg

½ tsp. sweet paprika

¼ tsp. ground cayenne pepper

1 large onion, sliced to thin ribbons

½ tsp. black pepper

4 large eggs

1 tbsp. fresh parsley, minced

Additional Stuff:

A one crust pie dough recipe for an small tart pan (I used an 8 –inch quiche pan)

Making the Dish:

1. Make your favorite pie dough recipe and wrap it up in a ball. Refrigerate it for about an hour.
2. Place 2 tbsp. of olive oil in a deep saucepan and get it hot. Add the beef and cook it up, breaking it up as it browns.
3. Add the pork sausage and break that up too, mixing it well with the beef and getting everything nice and brown.
4. Add the tomato paste, sugar, salt, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, paprika, and cayenne pepper … cooking and stirring everything for a few minutes.
5. Add the mint and stir it in, turn off the heat, cover the pan and let it sit for a bit.
6. In another pan, brown up the onions and black pepper in the remaining 2 tbsp. olive oil. When the onions are beginning to caramelize, turn off the heat and set the pan aside.
7. In a small fry pan, toast the pine nuts and set them aside on a cool plate.

Everything can sit for a bit at this point … so if you have other stuff to prepare, this is a good time to do it.

8. About forty-five minutes before you want to eat, preheat the oven to 425° F.
9. Roll out the pie crust and place it in a small tart pan (8 or 9 inches). Leave the crust rumpled and rustic looking.
10. Pick the bottom of the crust with a fork, line the tart pan with foil and place pie weights in the pan.
11. Bake for 15 minutes and then remove the pie weights and foil. Continue baking until the crust is golden and completely baked – about another 15 minutes or so.
12. Remove the pan from the oven and cool slightly. Lower the oven temperature to 375° F.
13. Place half the meat mixture in the bottom of the tart pan, scatter half the onions and half the pine nuts over top.
14. Make two hollows in the mixture and break two of the eggs into the hollows, lightly tossle them with a fork – just enough to break the yolks.
15. Layer on the other half of the meat mix, the onions and the last of the pine nuts.
16. Make two more hollows and break the other two eggs, roughing them up a bit.
17. Place the pie in the middle of the preheated oven and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or just until the eggs have set and are opaque …
18. Remove the pie and sprinkle on the fresh minced parsley, a bit of black pepper and drizzle with just a bit of olive oil.
19. Serve right a way or warm.

Thank you Yotam Ottolenghi! I look forward to getting to know you a bit more! Next week, the theme will be recipes made with greens. Well, that should be easy, as I am all about the greens of late! You know, you're welcome to join the group too!