TURKISH BEEF AND SILVERBEET PIDES

There has been an exhaustion that has wrapped around me, and it's not just caused by pregnancy. Renovating and trying to keep up with a toddler is wearing me down as I have reached my third trimester. The passion and motivation to cook over the last few weeks has dwindled, as too has my energy. Dinners have become boring and mundane as I quickly slap a few things together in desperation to have something ready in time for dinner. Food is sustenance, and without it's quality present I have felt the impact.  So meal planning has come into play so there are no excuses for this dreary mumma come late afternoon. I know what is for dinner and I have all the ingredients on hand. I know a lot of people cook this way, but I have always been a cook on a whim sorta gal. I like to cook to the weather, and to what we feel like for dinner and not be confined to the constraints of a meal plan. But alas times are changing, as my energy is being redirected elsewhere, my thoughts less focused on food, and time being a precious commodity.

I love middle eastern food, it is one of my favourite cuisines, along with south east asian. The spices in middle eastern cooking, the soft braised meats, the meats that are barbequed over a wood fire, beautiful breads and all the fresh accompaniments encased by it's general simpleness YUM! This is my recipe for pides. There are two fillings here, a turkish beef and cheese and a silver beet and feta and this recipe makes 8 of each.

FOR THE BREAD:

500 mls milk
120 grams butter
3 tablespoons sugar
14 grams dried yeast
1350 grams plain flour
1 egg

Combine milk and butter in a small saucepan and bring to blood temperature and allow butter to melt. In 250 mls of warm water stir in sugar and and yeast and allow to activate over 5 or so minutes. You will know when activation occurs when the yeast starts to foam. Combine yeast and milk mixtures and add to flour and knead to combine. Leave in a warm spot for about an hour, until the dough has doubled in size.

BEEF AND CHEESE FILLING

30 mls olive oil
650 grams chuck steak in 1 cm cubes
1 large onion finely diced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 large red capsicum finely diced
1 heaped tablespoon tomato paste
2 tsp paprika
2 tablespoons fresh marjoram
1 dried chili seeds removed and crumbled
400 gram can of diced tomatoes
300 grams tasty cheese grated

Fry beef in oil until well browned, remove from pan. Add onion, garlic and capsicum and saute for 5 minutes until softened. Add tomato paste and paprika and toast for a couple of minutes. Add tomatoes and 100 mls of water, marjoram and chili and return beef to the pan. Simmer for 1 hour until beef is soft and tender and sauce has reduced and thickened. Season well and set aside.

SILVERBEET AND FETA FILLING

1200 grams of silverbeet
2 tbs olive oil
1 onion finely diced
4 garlic cloves minced
60 grams golden raisins (or regular sultanas if you do not have access to these)
200 grams danish feta (you could you the regular type, but I like how this almost melts into the silverbeet)

Trim and wash the silverbeet, leaving the steam in the leaf part and allowing a couple of centimeters of steam on each leaf. Finely shred the silverbeet. In a large pot, saute onions and garlic until soft and add raisins and cook for a couple of minutes. Add silverbeet and cover stirring occasionally, allow to cook for 10 minutes. Fold in the crumbled feta and leave to one side.

ASSEMBLY

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius. Divide dough into 16 pieces. With the egg make an egg wash by beating egg with a splash of water. Roll out on a lightly floured surface until approximately 15 x 25 centimeters.

FOR THE BEEF PIDE

Add a handful of grated cheese to the middle and bottom and then on top a couple of tablespoons of the beef filling, leaving a couple of centimeters of dough all around. Pleat the edges around the filling and transfer onto a greased tray. Brush the dough with egg wash and bake for around 20 minutes or until dark golden.

FOR THE SILVERBEET PIDE

Add a couple of tablespoons of silverbeet mixture to the middle of the dough, leaving a couple of centimeters of dough all around. Pleast the edges around the filling and transfer onto a greased tray. Brush the dough with egg wash and bake for around 20 minutes or until dark golden.

Serve immediately and these are perfect by themselves for a tasty lunch or dinner. The leftovers are going in my husbands lunch box Monday morning. They would pair up beautifully with some hummus or tzatziki, and a lovely salad of cucumber and carrot ribbons mixed with mint and coriander leaves and a zingy lemon dressing.

Silverbeet and Beef Pide

Silverbeet Pide