Nigerian Meat-pie! Hearty and filling, but small portions serve a tasty snack. It takes commitment to make, but stores well in freezer, and can be eaten for weeks.
Recently rediscovered this, bringing a flood of nostalgia!
Spending my formative years in Nigeria, I remember saving-up my allowance for the pleasure of partaking in fresh meat-pie, bread, cupcakes, or English yogurt, roasted skewers, sugary cane sweets … I digress … So, meat-pie, amongst other things, was something my siblings and I looked forward to buying from the bakery in our neighborhood’s Guest-House sub-community. The aroma of baked goods permeating the air drew us in each time, making for something to look forward to on a weekly basis. We got to know the Bakers, and the kitchen staff knew us quite well for sure. 🙂
Nigerian meat-pie, some will classify more broadly as a West African or an English fare, is a pastry stuffed with beef, carrots, and potatoes; all ingredients flavored with onions, peppers, and various other spices.
With recently learning to bake from scratch, I decided to take a crack at creating one of my childhood favorite things to eat. I had made this during a recent holiday dinner spread, and some very particular palettes in my family thought it was one of the best they’d eaten!
So here it is …
Let me know what you think with a comment + rating on this recipe, and I’ll love to see your creation.
Ingredients
- PIE PASTRY:
- 4 cups (500g) all-purpose flour
- 200g cold Butter, cubed – put in freezer for 15 minutes
- 2 large Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 cup (60ml) cold water
- Extra flour for rolling-out dough, as needed
- PIE FILLING:
- 3/4 pound (350g) Ground beef
- 1 1/2 peeled and small diced/cubed Irish Potatoes
- 1/2 cup minced red Onion
- 1 1/2 cup peeled and small diced/cubed Carrots
- 1 cup (240ml) Chicken or Beef broth – look for my soup menus on how to make and store simple tasty broths from scratch
- Salt and pepper, as needed – the above may already be salty/spicy enough
- 2 eggs for brushing
Directions
- Pie Pastry:
- In a large bowl mix together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
- Add cubed butter and rub it with the flour until you get a crumbly texture.
- Beat 2 eggs with cold water and add it to the flour mixture, mix until dough is formed
- Split dough into 3 portions, wrap each portion in cling plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes
- Roll out the dough into 1/8-inch (1/4 cm) thickness – roll-out dough thick enough to hold the stuffing without breaking the pie (but too thick will make pie “doughy”) – sprinkle flour, as needed, to prevent dough from sticking to rolling pin or board
- Use a round bowl, cup, or other cylindrical tool for your desired size to cut circles in the dough – 6 – 8 inches (or 15 – 20.5 centimeters) diameter usually does it.
- Pie Filling:
- In a large skillet, add beef and cook, stirring constantly for 10 minutes.
- Add onions and stir in sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add diced carrots and broth, cooking for 5 minutes.
- Add salt and peppers, as needed.
- Add potatoes and stir into the meat mix, lowering the heat, cover skillet to cook until potato is just cooked (not too soft, it still gets to cook in the oven).
- Salt and pepper to taste – the above may already be salty/spicy enough.
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C).
- See Pie Pastry steps above for making dough.
- Brush egg on the inner face of the rounded cut out dough.
- Scoop 1/4 cup (or more) filling into the cut out dough.
- Fold over the stuffed dough, and press edges to seal filling in.
- Bush egg on the outer face of the wrapped pie.
- Line pan with parchment paper, olive oil, or flour – I’ve tried all 3, not too much of a difference, highly preference-driven.
- Bake for 30 minutes, until golden – ovens are different, I’ve cooked in kitchens where up to 40 minutes was required.
