Pastel de Cabrito


Pastel de Cabrito

Original:

Y si por caso fueren muy gordos los cabritos para asados, pueden hacer de ellos pedazos, y hacerlos pasteles o empanadas y puedes tomar salsa fina y perejil cortado, y ponlo en empanadas con un poquito de aceite dulce y vaya esta vianda al horno; y un poco antes que la saques del horno batir unos huevos con agraz o zumo de naranja y ponerlo dentro de laempanada por el espiradero del cobertor de la empanada y despues tornarlo al horno por espacio de tres paternostres y despues sacarlo y ponerlo este pastel delante del senor en un plato, y abrirlo y darselo.

[Ruperto de Nola, “Libre de Coch”, 1529, Recipe #48]

Translation:

And if by chance the kids are too fat to be roasted, you may cut them in pieces, and make them into pasteles or empanadas And you may take fine spice and chopped parsley and put them in the empanadas with a little sweet oil and take this food to the oven; and a little before you remove it from the oven, beat some eggs with verjuice or orange juice and put it in the empanada though the vent hole on the top of the empanada, and then return it to the oven for the space of three Paternosters.  And then remove it, and put this pastel before the lord on a plate, and open it and give it to him.

Ingredients:

Pie Crust:
2 1/2 Cup Flour + extra for rolling
1 Cup (2 sticks) Very Cold Butter
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Sugar
6 to 8 Tbsp Ice Water

1 Tbsp Fine Spice (Recipe below)

2 lb Goat Meat Beef
2 Tbsp Cilantro
1 Tbsp Parsley
Juice from 2 Oranges or 1 Cup Verjuice
2 Eggs

Fine Spice: (Will make 4+ tsp)
1/2 tsp Ginger
1 tsp Cinnamon
3/4 tsp White Pepper
3/4 tsp Cloves
1/8 tsp Mace
1 tsp Saffron Turmeric

Redaction:

Pie Crust:
Combine Flour, Butter, Salt, and Sugar in Mixer or Food Processor. Mix until it turns mealy with pea sized bits of butter throughout. Add Water one teaspoon at a time until it starts to clump together. If you pinch it and it holds, it's ready. Roll out dough into discs for the top and bottom of the pie. Put discs in Refrigerator for 1 hour. When ready, pull out of refrigerator and let sit for ten minutes. Finish rolling dough to desired size and put one disc in bottom of Pie Pan.

Filling:
Cook and season Beef in skillet with Salt and Pepper. When nearly done, add Cilantro and Parsley to Beef. Combine Eggs, Orange Juice, and Fine Spice and blend together. Fill Pie Shell with Beef and pour Egg Spice mixture over the Beef covering it throughout.

Cover Pie with second Pie Crust Disc. And Bake for about 20 minutes or so.

Notes: 

This is a Spanish version of Shepard's Pie. I took a note from Medieval Spanish Chef and used Beef instead of Goat Meat. Instead of buying a Pie Crust, I tried my hand at making one. The original recipe notes cooking the Pie for a while then adding the Fine Spice and Orange Juice mixture through the Vent Holes. Since I precooked the Meat in the skillet, I added the mixture before closing the Pie.  Medieval Spanish Chef found a recipe for Fine Spice in Josef Lladonosa's publication La Cocina Medieval, 1984, p. 71.  Overall, the pie came out very well. I was pleased with my Pie Crust, however, i need to work on my rolling technique. I got the correct thickness, but I need to work on dimensions. I had to splice a couple of sections where the crust wasn't wide enough. The pie was very flavorful. I was afraid that with the Orange Juice and the Fine Spice mix, that the combination would be overpowering, but it wasn't. I would not say that it was subtle, but it didn't dominate. Maybe next time I will try it with Goat Meat.

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