Way, way back in history, before brisket of beef and roast chicken were even invented there was the meat pie. In his authoratitive history of Jewish “Eat and Be Satisfied,” John Cooper says that this in Central and Eastern Europe a meat pie called a pastide was the Friday night entre of choice. The pastide was a kind of pot pie, a crust on the bottom, a crust on the top and a meat filling. This structure was a memorial to the Manna, the miraculous food that sustained the Jews through their forty years of desert wanderings. According to it’s biblical description the manna was sandwiched in between to layers of dew. In the pastide the dough stands in for the dew and the meat for the manna. Then and now, meat which is called basar in Hebrew was a preferred Shabbat food, it’s letters adding up to the number seven which symbolizes the Sabbath.
Compared to a steak or a roast, this recipe involves a relatively small quantity of meat.Though Medieval Europe was heavily carniverous, anti Semitic Eccestiastical decrees which banned non Jews from purchasing Jewish meat impacted on the availabitity of kosher meat. To be certified as kosher, an animal must be free of blemishes, even relatively minor ones. As such the kosher meat market depends on a secondary market of non Jews who are willing to purchase meat that is fit to eat but for one reason or another doesn’t cut it as kosher. In Islamic countries this market was vigorous but in Christian countries, Ecclesiastical decrees often elminated this market and consequently drove up the price of kosher meat. By the 16th century, there was almost no kosher meat in Europe at all and Jews started raising chicken and other fowl.
By the Jews stopped eating meat pies and moved on to chicken and goose.
As I’ve been unable to track down the original recipe what follows is an adaptation based on “From My Grandmother’s Kitchen, ” A Sephardic cookbook combined by Vivian Alchech Miner.
Alchech Miner’s anscestors came from the Balkan countries and her cuisine reflects a blend of Turkish, Greek, Bulgarian and Roumanian influences.
Meat Pastel (Savory Meat Pie) While Miner’s pie is delicious-it’s a really yum recipe. this isn’t quite authentic.Though the Romans made a flour egg and oil dough it wasn’t for eating but rather as a case for meat or other fillings. Remember that premodern sanitation was severely lacking and encasing the food in dough was a way of keeping in clean. In the middle ages meat pies were made of a whole wheat or rye pastry-sometimes combined with shortening which for the Jews probably meant shmaltz or rendered chicken fat. Instead of chopped meat they were filled with other sorts of meat including (yes, strange but true) udder.
Pastry
3 cups of flour
3/4 cup of vegetable oil
1 cup hot water
1/2 tsp salt
Mix together by hand or machine into a ball of soft dough.
Cover with a tea towel and set aside for 20 minutes. During that time make the filling
Filling
One lb or 500 grams of ground beef
One large onion diced
1/2 teaspoon of cilantro or parsley chopped fine (optional)
1 clove of fresh garlic diced fine
2 tablespoons of sweet red wine or water
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 and 1/2 tablespoons of flour
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons oil
Saute onions and garlic together until translucent
Add the meat, breaking it up into small crumbs. Cook until brown. Add salt, pepper and cilantro or parsley the meat.
In a separate bowl combine the egg, the flour and the wine. Combine together and add to the meat
Cover a medium sized pan (round or rectangular) with cooking spray
Divide the dough into half.
Press into the pan using your fingers.
Add meat on top
Working on a floured surface roll out the remaining half of the dough and lay it on top of the meat. (this is tricky to do perfectly. You may want to enlist a help to help you pick up the dough and lay it smoothly over the meat)
Brush with egg yolk and sprinkle sesame seeds. With the tines of a fork make air holes and bake at 350 F or 180 C until brown (about 50 minutes) Delicious and freezes well.