A meat pie recipe with matzoh for the Passover / Pesach festival has been a traditional recipe for Greek, Turkish, and Egyptian Jews. In Egypt, it is called "maiena" or "mayena"; in Greece and Turkey, it is known as "Mina". Meat pie recipes abound, ranging from easy to difficult, but the following meat pie recipe for the Passover / Pesach festival adds an exotic touch and taste to any Passover / Pesach festival meal. I've arranged the instructions for the following recipe for meat pie in an easy-to-follow manner for easy reading.
Egyptian Maiena (Mayena) - Meat Pie Recipe For Passover
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
4 tablespoons sunflower oil, divided use
1 1/2 pounds (0.68 kilograms) ground lamb (Sephardic style) or beef (Ashkenazi style)
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
Bunch of flat-leafed parsley, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup pine nuts
5 eggs, lightly beaten
2 1/2 cups chicken stock (or use 2 bouillon cubes)
8 matzo squares
Instructions for the Egyptian Maiena (Mayena) Meat Pie recipe:
- How to prepare the meat pie filling: You fry the onions in 3 tablespoons of oil until they are soft and golden.
- Next, add the meat. After you add the meat, you then add the salt and pepper to taste, the cinnamon, and then the allspice and cook, all the while stirring and breaking up the meat, for about 8 minutes.
- Next, you add the parsley.
- Next, you fry the pine nuts in the remaining oil until they are slightly browned, and then you add them to the meat.
- Finally, you remove the meat pie filling from the heat and let it cool slightly. Next, you then add the 3 beaten eggs, all the while stirring the meat pie filling well.
- How to prepare the crust: Place the warmed chicken stock in a bowl.
- Using 4 to 5 matzo squares, soak the 4 to 5 matzo squares in the chicken stock until they are soft.
- Make sure not to make the 4 to 5 matzo squares too soggy.
- Next, you quickly lift the matzo squares out of the chicken broth and then you fit the 4 matzo squares into 2 layers in the bottom and in the sides of a 12-inch (30.48 centimeters) baking dish, overlapping and trimming the edges.
- Next, you fill the crust with the meat mixture and cover with the remaining matzos that were softened in the chicken stock.
- Next, pour 1/2 cup of the chicken stock over the crust (the chicken stock will seep through the crust), then pour the remainder of the beaten eggs over the top.
- Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius or Centigrade) for 45 minutes.
- Serve hot.
Makes 8 servings of Egyptian meat pie (Maiena or Mayena).