İçli Pide

The long edges pinched up and closed over the filling into a boat, and an egg cracked into the middle near the end.

Lamb, Egg. Not vegetarian — contains cheese whose rennet the source does not name, lamb.

Ingredients

the dough

• 500 g strong white flour
• 300 ml warm water
• 7 g fast-action dried yeast
• 10 g salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

the filling

• 400 g minced lamb
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
• 1 long green pepper, chopped
• 1 tablespoon hot red pepper paste
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 200 g kaşar or mild hard cheese, grated

to finish

• 6 eggs
• 40 g butter

Method

1. THE LONG EDGES ARE PINCHED UP AND CLOSED OVER THE FILLING INTO A BOAT, and an egg is cracked into the middle near the end. The dough is rolled to a long oval, filled down the centre, and then the two long sides are lifted, folded inward over the filling and pinched together at both ends -- which leaves a narrow slot of filling showing down the middle rather than an open face. That slot is where the egg goes, three or four minutes before the end, so it sets with a soft yolk. A fully open pide bakes its filling dry; a fully closed one steams it. The partly-closed boat does neither: the filling braises in its own steam while the exposed strip browns.
2. THE ENDS ARE PINCHED HARD AND TWISTED. The point where the two sides meet at each tip is the weak spot, and a loose one opens in the oven and lets everything run out. Pinched and given a twist, they hold.
3. THE EGG GOES IN NEAR THE END, NOT AT THE START. Cracked into the slot about four minutes before the pide comes out. In from the beginning, the yolk is hard and chalky; four minutes sets the white and leaves the yolk liquid, which is the point of it.
4. THE CHEESE GOES UNDER THE MEAT, NOT ON TOP. Grated kaşar spread on the dough first, then the lamb mixture over it. Underneath it melts into the base and seals it against the meat juices; on top it browns and goes rubbery before the filling is cooked.
5. THE FILLING IS DRAINED AND THE TOMATO DESEEDED. A closed boat cannot evaporate anything, so a wet filling leaves the base soggy and sometimes splits the seams with steam. Deseeded tomato, chopped onion rather than grated, and nothing blended.
6. The flour, yeast and salt mixed with the water and oil, kneaded 10 MINUTES and risen 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES.
7. The lamb, onion, tomato, pepper, pepper paste, salt and black pepper mixed RAW. The tomato DESEEDED.
8. The oven heated to 240°C with a heavy tray inside.
9. The dough divided into 6 and each rolled to a long oval about 30 cm by 14 cm.
10. The grated cheese spread down the centre FIRST, then the lamb mixture over it, leaving 3 cm clear along each long edge.
11. The two LONG EDGES lifted and FOLDED INWARD over the filling, leaving a narrow SLOT of filling showing down the middle.
12. The ends PINCHED HARD and TWISTED to seal.
13. Baked 12 MINUTES.
14. An EGG cracked into the slot of each and baked a further 4 MINUTES.
15. TESTED: the white should be set and the yolk still liquid, and the seams should be intact.
16. The butter melted and brushed over the crusts. Served at once.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Turkey · All recipes