Easy Meat Pita
Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 8
Ingredients
3 brown onions, finely diced
500g lean beef mince
1 tbsp nigella seeds, plus extra for garnish
¼ tsp allspice
1 tsp sweet paprika
Lemon thyme
1.3 cup pitted olives
½ lemon zest
Salt & pepper
Fresh herbs - mint, parsley
375g fillo pastry
3 eggs
1 cup of vlahotiri (cheese)
Olive oil
Dried oregano
Nigella seeds
250g butter, melted (and milk solids removed to make it clarified butter)
To serve
Tzatziki
Salad
Method
In a heavy-based frypan add a generous drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and cook the diced onion, slowly enabling it to cook gently and not burn.
Turn the gas on high and add the mincemeat to the onion mixture. Break it down to a fine mince, season with salt, pepper, paprika and allspice and cook until the meat is tender. Add the olives, lemon thyme and lemon zest and stir through. Put aside and allow the meat mixture to cool.
Preheat the oven to 175°C. Melt your butter and clarify.
On a clean work surface lay 1 sheet of fillo pastry and brush generously with butter. Repeat this process until you have 5 layers rotating each layer 25 degrees to create a star pattern. Don't worry if you are overlapping.
Generously butter a 30cm heavy-based frypan and carefully lift your flip bundle and place it into the bottom of the frypan. Add 2 more fillo sheets in the middle making sure you scrunch them up. Drizzle with melted butter.
In a bowl whisk the eggs, add your cheese, and then gently fold in the meat mixture and the fresh herbs. Taste once again and season accordingly.
Pour the filling mix into the pan.
Take another 3 sheets of filo, brush each one with butter and scrunch into the centre of the pan. Fold over the edges to enclose the pita. This does not need to be perfect and nor should it be flat. Ruffled pastry will go nice and crispy in the oven. Brush the surface with more melted butter and sprinkle with some flakey salt, dried oregano and nigella seeds.
Place the pan over high heat for 2 minutes to cook the bottom of the pastry. Transfer to the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before serving.
Cut into wedges and serve with some tzatziki and/or salad.