This delicious hearty Maltese Meat Pie is a family favourite for many families in Malta. The pie is rich in flavour and is especially appreciated in the colder months of the year. This is also a favourite recipe of a very famous lady who flew from Japan to learn how to cook it. More details about this coming later in the year, but we hope you enjoy cooking it for now and please send us your feedback or any questions.
Easy Traditional Maltese Meat Pie Recipe
Print RecipeIngredients
- Pie Filling Ingredients
- 600 grams of lean good quality minced beef
- 1 cup of Marsala wine
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of mixed spice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of medium curry powder
- 1 cup of diced onion
- 1 cup of diced carrot
- 1 cup of diced potato
- 1 cup of peas
- 4 tablespoons of tomato paste
- 1 cup of beef or chicken stock
- Season with salt to taste while cooking
- Pastry Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups of plain strong flour
- 180 grams of unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons of iced water
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 squeeze of lemon juice
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 beaten egg
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to gas mark 4 or 200 degrees Celsius or 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Sift the flour and salt, ensuring maximum air enters the flour; cube the butter and add it to the flour, let the flour coat each piece of butter, then carefully rub the butter with your fingertips until the flour resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add the egg yolk, water, and lemon juice, and whisk in a small bowl. Add the wet mixture to the flour. Gently knead the dough until all the ingredients are incorporated; the dough should come away from the side of the bowl and not be sticky; if it is too runny, add a little more sifted flour 1 tablespoon at a time until you get a soft light pastry. Put the pastry to rest in a zip lock bag in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Place 2 frying pans on the hob. Add a little butter to the pan and brown the beef on high heat. Make sure any juice is drained or cooked off. Set the beef aside.
- In the other pan, add a little butter to the pan, fry off the onion until golden, and add the Marsala wine. Allow to reduce and evaporate the alcohol; once reduced, add the beef back into the pan and add the mixed spice and curry powder; cook a little further so the spices incorporate well into the meat. Add all the vegetables, tomato paste and beef or chicken stock and cook until the pie filling is rich and saucy; ensure the mixture is not thin or too runny.
- Take your rich shortcrust pastry out of the fridge and roll it out on a floured surface to cover the bottom of a 23- to 25- centimetre pie dish. Ensure you leave enough dough to cover the pie and make your Maltese cross on top. Once you have lined your pie dish with the pastry, fill the pie dish to the top with the pie filling.
- Roll out the remaining pastry to cover the pie and decorate with the Maltese Cross. Pierce the top of the pie to allow air to escape brush egg glaze before cooking in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
- Once cooked, take it out of the oven and allow it to cool slightly before serving with some creamy mashed potato or green salad.
