Biff Paj (Swedish Meat Pies)

Swedish meat pie, served with almond green beans.

Today was cold and dreary, and I was wanting to bake, and I was also craving comfort foods.  After thumbing through some recipes, as I was trying to figure out what to make, I stumbled across this favorite.  It hit the "want to bake craving," the "comfort food" criteria,  and also was a great dinner idea, so I decided to make Biff Paj (Swedish Meat Pies) for dinner.

Many years ago, I first had these at the Junction City Scandinavian Festival, and is one of my favorite treats from the festival. Swedish Meat Pies are rich, savory, and delicious! In the spirit of Paula Dean, I have to say that it's hard to go wrong with potatoes, cheese, butter and sour cream.

Swedish Meat Pies (Biff Paj)

Skill level: 

Adapted from: The Barest Hint of Sweetness 

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Baking Time: 20 minutes

Yield: 6 meat pies

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 pound ground beef (or turkey)

1 tablespoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed

1 pinch ground nutmeg

1 pinch Hungarian paprika (regular is fine, as well)

2 large red potatoes, grated

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese 

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons salt

1 1/4 cup cold unsalted butter

1 cup sour cream

Preparation:

1. Melt the 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium heat. 
2. Crumble in the ground beef and add parsley, allspice, dill, nutmeg, paprika, 1 teaspoon salt, and grated potatoes. Cook and stir until the meat is browned. 

3. Turn off the heat and stir in the cheese and 1/2 cup sour cream until melted. 

4. Set aside to cool.
5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
6. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour and 1 teaspoon salt. 
7. Mix in the 1 1/4 cup cold butter with a fork or pastry cutter until only pea sized lumps remain OR pulse ingredients in a food processor to get pea sized lumps. 
8. Stir in 1/2 cup sour cream a little bit at a time until the dough holds together. Knead briefly on a lightly floured surface. 
9. Divide into six equal portions, and pat into balls.
   
10. Roll out each ball of dough to about 1/8 inch thickness, about 8 inches across.  They do not have to be pretty at this point, as they will be trimmed in step 13.

11. Place a heaping 1/2 cup of filling onto each one.

12. Fold over into half circles, and seal by moistening the edges with warm water and pressing together. 

13. Trim edges so that the pies have a nice half circle shape, and crimp edges. 

14. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

15. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown.

Apple & Almond Galette

A galette is a rustic French term, used to describe various flat, round, free-form crusty tarts and cakes that are cooked on a baking sheet rather than in a pan.

Apple & Almond Galette

Skill level:

Serves 8

Ingredients

For the dough

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon. salt
1 tablespoon. sugar
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/3 to 1/2 cup ice water

For the filling

2 pounds apples, such as Granny Smith or Jonagold, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon. ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon. freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon. salt
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 egg
1 tablespoon of milk
Sugar for sprinkling

Optional

1/4 cup apricot jam (pear also works well)
Lightly sweetened whipped cream for serving

Preparation

1. To make the dough, put the flour, salt and sugar in a bowl. Put the butter in another bowl and place both bowls in the freezer for 10 minutes.
2. Transfer the flour mixture to a food processor and pulse about 5 times to blend. Add the butter and pulse 15 to 20 times, until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 1/3 cup of the water and pulse twice. Squeeze the dough with your fingers; it should hold together but should not be sticky. If it is crumbly, add more water 1 Tbs. at a time, pulsing twice after each addition.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, gather into a ball and flatten into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
4. Place a baking sheet on the bottom rack of an oven (this will catch any run-off). Position another rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 400°F. 
5. Line a second baking sheet with a Silpat nonstick liner and spray with nonstick cooking spray. (I usually use a large, round cooking stone or a baking sheet, always lined with parchment paper).
6. Peel, core, and remove the stems from the apples, then gut into 1/4 inch thick pieces.



Peeled apples.



A mellon baller is a handy
tool for coring apples.



Cut away stems and bottoms.



Cut into irregular, 1/4 inch thick slices.

7. To make the filling, in a large bowl, stir together the apples, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and cornstarch. Set aside.



Simply add sugar, spices, and lemon juice, all at once.



8. Brown the almonds in a shallow pan, or in the oven while it is warming.



Almonds being browned in a skillet.



Browned almonds, ready to add to the mix.



9. Add the browned almonds to the apple mixture, and stit to combine.



Add the almonds to the apple mix, and stir to combine.

10. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand for 5 minutes. 
11. Place the dough between 2 sheets of lightly floured waxed paper and roll out into a 12-inch round. Brush off the excess flour. 
12. If edges of the round are jagged, which mine often are, use your hands to press edges into a round shape.



Rounding rough dough edges by hand.

13. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. 
14. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
15. Combine the egg and milk, lightly whipping until smooth, and eggs are not "streaky."
16. Using a brush, thinly coat the dough round with the egg and milk mixture.  (Some of the egg and milk will be left over for use in Step 18).
    

    

    Egg and milk, ready to coat the pastry.

    

    I like to use a silicone brush to coat the pastry.

17. Arrange the apple filling in the center of the dough, mounding the fruit slightly and leaving a 2 inch border. 



Pile filling on the pastry dough, leaving a 2
inch border all of the way around.



18. Gently fold the edges of the dough over the apples, pleating loosely. Brush the dough with the beaten egg. Lightly sprinkle sugar over the apples.



Dough edges pushed up to make a rustic shell.



19. Brush outside of galette with the egg and milk mixture.



Brush outside of shell with egg & milk mixture.
This will give the shell a nice glossy look
when it is baked.



20. Bake until the crust is golden and the apples are tender, about 1 hour. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the galette cool completely, about 1 hour.
21. Optional: Just before serving, in a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the jam.  Brush the apples with the jam and let cool. When cut, and ready to serve, accompany each slice with a dollop of whipped cream.