Meat-Beet Pie

More Russian food for you – in addition to the beet salad, I used the green/chard part of the beets to make this meat pie.

You’ll need the following ingredients:

• 300 g wheat flour
• 150 g butter
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 1 kg beet chard
• 400 g minced meat (I used beef but a combination of beef & pork also works well)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 bunch of parsley
• Salt & pepper to taste

1. Butter your round pie pan and prepare the dough first – sift the flour into a wide bowl, add butter (cut up finely), water, egg and salt. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, wrap and place in fridge.
2. Boil the beet chard for 10 minutes in simmering water. Chop it finely (in a food processor or by hand). Do the same with parsley and garlic.
3. Cook the minced meat at medium heat in a large pan using a little bit of butter, adding the garlic and parsley. Constantly stir and break up the mince with a wooden spoon until all meat is just cooked through.
4. Add the beet chard and cook at low heat for about 5 minutes. Set aside.
5. Separate the dough into two halves. Roll them out on a floured surface. Place one on the bottom of the pan and prick with fork to make several rows of holes.
6. Place filling on top of dough, cover with the second layer and fold over. Brush with an light egg wash if you want.
7. Bake at 165C for 45 minutes until dough is golden brown and meat filling is sizzling. Let cool and cut into individual pieces.