Moroccan Serpent Pie
By on March 31, 2010 10:36 AM
If I were a more ambitious blogger that was in the habit of blowing my own trumpet, I'd probably claim that this pie was a result of pure genius. But the truth of the matter is that most of my greatest accomplishments in the kitchen are often a result of sheer laziness, and this Moroccan serpent pie is no exception.
You see, I set out to make some meat briouates and then half way through the process I realised that I couldn't be bothered standing over the stove deep frying a stack of pastries. So I decided to make a savoury Moroccan serpent pie instead.
Personally I think the end result is far more dramatic (if I may say so myself) and the real stroke of genius is that when I told the kids we were having serpent pie for dinner they were so intrigued at the thought of eating 'snake pie' that they failed to complain about the spices and green stuff!
Moroccan Serpent Pie
I used my Spanakopita pie dish for the Moroccan Serpent Pie which is approximately 30cm in diameter and about 6cm high
Ingredients
1kg of lean organic minced beef or lamb
2 onions, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
A small bunch of fresh coriander, finely chopped
A small bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
4 organic eggs, beaten
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp paprika
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
80g unsalted butter, melted
375g thick filo pastry
Cinnamon sugar to serve, optional
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Grease a 30cm round baking dish with some olive oil and set aside.
2. Heat a little olive in a large pan and gently fry the onion, garlic and fresh herbs over a low heat for about 5 minutes or until the onion has softened. Add the meat and cook for 5-10minutes, stirring often until the meat is evenly browned.
3. If there is any excess fat or liquid drain it off and then stir in the ginger, cinnamon and paprika and season to taste. Remove from the heat and then stir in the beaten eggs and stir until they begin to set and then set aside to cool.
4. Take a sheet of filo pastry and evenly spoon a couple of tablespoonfuls of the meat mixture along the lower edge of the filo sheet. Roll the pastry tightly and then starting from the outer edge of the dish, spiral the roll inwards. Repeat the process and continue to spiral the meat filled filo rolls ensuring that the base is covered and that there are no gaps.
5. Brush the coiled pastry snake with melted butter and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with a light sprinkling of ground cinnamon and icing sugar.
A Mediterranean Feast of the
Mythic Islands of Malta & Sicily
June 7th-17th, 2011
Ten day fully escorted gastronomic tour
Download 'A Mediterranean Feast' 2011 Tour Brochure (
111kb pdf)
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You see, I set out to make some meat briouates and then half way through the process I realised that I couldn't be bothered standing over the stove deep frying a stack of pastries. So I decided to make a savoury Moroccan serpent pie instead.
Personally I think the end result is far more dramatic (if I may say so myself) and the real stroke of genius is that when I told the kids we were having serpent pie for dinner they were so intrigued at the thought of eating 'snake pie' that they failed to complain about the spices and green stuff!
Moroccan Serpent PieI used my Spanakopita pie dish for the Moroccan Serpent Pie which is approximately 30cm in diameter and about 6cm high
Ingredients
1kg of lean organic minced beef or lamb
2 onions, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
A small bunch of fresh coriander, finely chopped
A small bunch of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
4 organic eggs, beaten
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp paprika
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
80g unsalted butter, melted
375g thick filo pastry
Cinnamon sugar to serve, optional
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. Grease a 30cm round baking dish with some olive oil and set aside.
2. Heat a little olive in a large pan and gently fry the onion, garlic and fresh herbs over a low heat for about 5 minutes or until the onion has softened. Add the meat and cook for 5-10minutes, stirring often until the meat is evenly browned.
3. If there is any excess fat or liquid drain it off and then stir in the ginger, cinnamon and paprika and season to taste. Remove from the heat and then stir in the beaten eggs and stir until they begin to set and then set aside to cool.
4. Take a sheet of filo pastry and evenly spoon a couple of tablespoonfuls of the meat mixture along the lower edge of the filo sheet. Roll the pastry tightly and then starting from the outer edge of the dish, spiral the roll inwards. Repeat the process and continue to spiral the meat filled filo rolls ensuring that the base is covered and that there are no gaps.
5. Brush the coiled pastry snake with melted butter and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with a light sprinkling of ground cinnamon and icing sugar.
Take a look at my flickr set for more process shots.
A Mediterranean Feast of theMythic Islands of Malta & Sicily
June 7th-17th, 2011
Ten day fully escorted gastronomic tour
Download 'A Mediterranean Feast' 2011 Tour Brochure (
111kb pdf)Sign-up for the free Gourmet Worrier - Live Eat Dream newsletter
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That DOES look "dramatic"! I love it. And the filling sounds perfect. I love anything with cinnamon in it, especially Greek food!
Love it. Well done to you for adapting it to your mood of the moment and for fooling the kids at the same time hehe...I think it looks amazing! xx
Wow! I've never seen this pies before, but it looks wonderful! I would be also intrigued as your kids if I were to eat this! ;) Gorgeous.
ah. wow. this looks so unique and wonderful...i would love to try a huge bit!
I just finished watching Michael Palin's Around the World in 80 Days where he feasted on fresh snake in China. Needless to say, your post title sucked me in and not knowing what to expect, I am relieved to see the dish is only in the shape of a serpent.
it looks lovely and delicious...
oh sometimes the best things are born out of laziness! like this. I love it!
Personally, I think laziness is the mother of invention! This looks fabulous and reminds me of my filo-wrapped and oven-baked kefta which was fantastic. But this is definitely more dramatic!
This looks great really... filo pastry is so nice to work with in the kitchen. Love the snake shape pie... it looks very unusual. It's been a while since I used filo, last time I did the Boreks a middle eastern dish. Congrats!
Great stuff! love this recipe. It's been a while since I used filo pastry. Last time I did Boreks a middle eastern appetizers. I will try this snake shape pie cos it looks great.
Oh how fun!! I love this. :-) No wonder your kids were excited! :-)
Marvelous! I can't wait to try this -- though I hate working with phyllo ...
I used to loathe working with it also as I found it too fiddly, but then I started using the thicker filo rather then the paper fine stuff. I also add the melted butter at the end, rather than brush each and every individual sheet, as who has the time to do that?
I am also a bit of a lazy gourmet. I love using filo in my recipes. It is easy and delicious, pretty much no matter what you do with it.
I will be trying this next time instead of making a standard meat pie.
WOW - this is genious! I'll be trying this method on other savory pie favorites too. Thanks for the inspiration.
Snake pie, wow, I love it! Looks like so much fun to assemble. Does not look like you are being lazy at all!
This looks delicious! Once you add meat, it becomes kind of like bisteeya, which is another great Moroccan dish :) great idea!
true genious Nanette! I love it!
Brilliant Brilliant BRILLANT! I will be making a version of this.
Cinnamon is one of my favourite spices. I love it in sweet and savoury dishes and *yes* especially in Greek food!
Ta! I'm all for fooling the kids so that they eat well and if I run the risk of sounding daft - who cares!
Thanks Sarka!
LOL!
I find that laziness, desperation and invention kind of go hand in hand with the 'mother' job description, no?
You're so welcome June!
Coming from you my dear friend, that is a huge compliment xx
Nanette,
Sounds and looks amazing - I love the spices. You can make it for us anytime!!
xx oo
You know, when we do eventually get together we're going to need a week to get through this menu of ours that we keep adding to!
I love the story behind this one. An easy meal and a way to get my 5 year old to try something different. Thanks.
Just sprinkle lots of icing sugar over the top of the b'stilla Rachel and don't tell your five year old whats in the pie!
Wow, your Moroccan Serpent Pie looks delicious and intriguing. I can't wait to try it!