Sephardi Pastel – Meat Pie in Pastry – Dairy-free version

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Wrapping Dough

1. 1
   Mix the flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl.

   Bowl
2. 2
   Add the cold margarine in cubes and rub it in with your fingertips, until coarse crumbs form.

   💡The margarine must stay cold: margarine that melts in your hands gives a hard dough instead of a crumbly one. Work quickly, and if the dough warms up, put it back in the fridge.
3. 3
   Add the eggs and cold water and quickly bring together with your hands, without kneading, just until the dough comes together.

   💡Knead as little as possible: long kneading develops gluten, and the dough comes out tough and shrinks in the oven.
4. 4
   Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least 30 minutes.

   ⚙ Wrapping and Chilling the DoughPlastic wrapRefrigerator

   💡Chilling firms the margarine and relaxes the gluten: the dough rolls out easily, doesn't stick to the counter and doesn't shrink in the oven.

For the Pastry Filling

1. 5
   Heat the olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveFrying pan
2. 6
   Add the onion and fry 5–8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 7
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.
4. 8
   Raise the heat to medium-high and add the meat. Press it flat over the bottom and leave it for 2–3 minutes without stirring, until a brown crust forms.

   Stove

   💡Brown ground beef in the pot without pressing it: leave it as one 'cake' for a few minutes until a brown crust forms, then break it into chunks. Deep browning = deep flavor.
5. 9
   Break it up with a wooden spoon and fry for 5–7 more minutes, stirring, until no pink is left and the meat browns.

   StoveWooden spoon
6. 10
   Add the cumin, cinnamon, salt and black pepper and fry another 1–2 minutes, until fragrant.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove
7. 11
   Remove from the heat and cool the filling completely, about half an hour.

   💡Fill dough only with completely cooled filling: a hot filling softens the dough, makes it hard to seal and makes the pastry soggy inside.
8. 12
   Stir in the parsley.

   💡Fresh herbs and egg go only into a filling that has cooled: that way the herbs stay green, and the egg doesn't cook but binds the filling.

To assemble

1. 13
   Preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F). Roll out about two-thirds of the dough and line a pan with it, sides included.

   ⚙ Preheating the OvenOven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
2. 14
   Fill with the cooled filling and smooth the top.
3. 15
   Cover with the rest of the dough, press the edges together and brush with beaten egg, and poke a few small holes for steam.

   💡Press the edges of the top crust firmly onto the edges of the bottom crust, and the holes in the top let steam escape: that way the top doesn't puff up and the filling doesn't bubble out.
4. 16
   Bake 35 minutes, until the pie is golden.

   ⚙ BakingOvenBaking pan

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.