A Nigerian Pithivier Pie

You need this Easy Pie for the holidays ~ Puff Pastry saves the day!

Behold! A Nigerian Pithivier Meat Pie. One I baked at home, the night before filming.

A Nigerian Pithivier Pie?  

What on earth is that? As I struggled to find a concise name for this pie, I decided to call it what it is. A round pie with two discs of puff pastry, an irresistible Nigerian style filling, with the top carved like a galette des roix. As you can tell from my recent letters to you, I am safely cocooned in delicious memories of my childhood. I asked, “what dishes remind you of the happy days of your childhood?” I shared several childhood favourites and my heart-warming Mothered Oxtail Stew, inspired by my friend Nichola’s childhood, a recipe Nigella Lawson so generously praised. 

Meat pie as we call it in Nigeria, is another of such treasures, one that takes me back to the glorious days of my childhood. And so when Tesco, the UK's biggest supermarket, asked me to create a recipe with a good dose of African magic, to inspire cooks to try something unique, and specifically using puff pastry, I had an ‘aha’ moment. 

Behind the scenes of my pie shoot. I take my red aprons everywhere!

Nigerian meat pies were a mainstay I enjoyed growing up, and it is still a popular treat. With a buttery chewy pastry and crispy edges once baked, a fragrant sweet filling of potatoes, carrots and minced meat cooked with a whisper of curry powder and dried thyme. As expected, a beautiful recipe of this delight is treasured within my cookbook. You can find Nigerian Meat Pie on page 50 of Africana. Typically, hand-sized pies, as a child I loved them much smaller and cute, easier for me to devour in one or two bites.

This time I gave the Nigerian meat pie a quick revamp, using a block of puff pastry and carving it in the style of a French Pithivier. The Brits love pie and this recipe is a great marriage of Nigerian, British & French cultures. While I implore you to try the more traditional recipe in the book, and enjoy rubbing the flour and butter between your hands and all, sometimes, some of us simply do not have time to make our own pastry. And for those moments, puff pastry, either ready rolled or a block which you can divide and shape as you please, is quite the time saving hero.

Look at the golden crust! This is a gorgeous pie that you can enjoy as a meal with a side salad or shared with friends and family in the garden or at a picnic. In this video, I serve it with buttered greens and roasted sweet potatoes.

On set! Don’t mess with the chef and her baton!

We filmed this recipe in London, and it took almost all day, with numerous pies which filled the tummies of the lovely camera crew. The final result can be seen in the 4-minute video below. Filming recipes is a lot of work, and a much lengthier process than cooking at home. However, I thoroughly enjoy the buzz and unpredictability of these shoots. Milli Taylor, a chef who joined me in the kitchen, prepared an aromatic Cheese and Chutney Parcel that you could prepare for a lovely dinner party entrée. Now all that's left is for you to tuck in and let's bake some pies!

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My debut cookbook, Africana

Treasured Recipes & Stories from across the continent. (Published by HQ stories, HarperCollins 2022, Amistad 2023)

Your reviews mean the world to me and they go a long way towards the book’s success. If you enjoy Africana, I would be grateful if you could leave positive words here or in any of your favourite retailers worldwide. Thank you!

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Its pie time! With buttered greens and roasted sweet potatoes.

Nigerian Pithivier Pie

aka Lerato’s curried beef and potato pie as seen on Tesco.com

This pie is a delightful treat for the holiday season, with the super quick puff pastry to save you time, and a fragrant spiced filling that will enchant all at the table. See my Cook’s tips for plant-based swaps. Bake this as a large pie, and cut to share, or make the traditional hand pies as seen on page 50 of Africana Cookbook.

Feeds 8 as a snack or 4 as a side

Takes 1 hour 20 mins, plus chilling

Ingredients

• plain flour, for dusting

• 2 x 500g block puff pastry

For the filling

• 2 tbsp rapeseed or vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing

• 1 onion, peeled and diced

• 1 garlic clove, peeled and finely sliced

• 350g beef steak mince (5% fat)

• 1 tsp curry powder

• ½ tsp dried thyme

• 2 medium potatoes (about 250g), peeled and cut into 1cm cubes

• 2 medium carrots, scrubbed and cut into 1cm cubes

• 250ml beef stock

• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

• 2 tbsp plain flour

• 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten

• buttered green beans and gravy, to serve (optional)

Let’s get cooking!

1. Dust a clean surface with flour and roll out 1 block of pastry to about ½cm thick. Place a 20cm cake tin or plate over the top and cut around it to make a circle. Place on a tray lined with baking paper. Cover the pastry with another large piece of baking paper and set aside.

2. Repeat with the second block of pastry, but this time cut into a 25cm circle. Place over the first pastry disc and chill until needed.

3. For the filling, heat the oil in a wide frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onions with a pinch of salt and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Stir in the garlic until fragrant.

4. Add the mince and cook for 5 minutes, breaking apart any clumps with a spoon. Stir in the curry powder and thyme, then add the potatoes, carrots and stock. Season with salt and ½ tsp black pepper, then bring to a simmer.

5. Cover and cook for 15 mins until the liquid has almost evaporated, and the potatoes are tender (adding a little more water if needed). Stir in the flour until thickened, then remove from the heat and leave to cool completely before assembling the pie.

6. Preheat the oven to gas 4, 180°C, fan 160°C, 356F. Remove the pastry from the fridge and set aside the bigger round. Season the beaten yolk and brush around the edge of the smaller round. Prick a few holes in the surface using a fork.

7. Pack the cooled filling into an oiled bowl slightly smaller than the 20cm pastry, then carefully turn out on the smaller pastry round. Place the larger round on top to conceal the filling, smoothing it out around the sides, then crimp the edges to seal.

8. With a sharp knife, pierce the middle of the pie to let the steam escape, then run the tip from the top to the sides to create a curved carving. Brush all over with the egg yolk and bake for 25 - 30 minutes until puffed and golden. Serve hot or at room temperature with buttered green beans and gravy, if you like.

Cook’s Tip

Ingredient swaps, answers to your questions, tips & tricks to take this recipe even further.

Easily swap the minced meat for a mix of mushrooms, cooked lentils, caramelised onions, spinach, roasted peppers and small cubes of feta or halloumi or tofu. Not necessarily all at the same time, of-course.

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Illustration by Kathleen Murray. Author & Africana Recipe Photo by Tara Fisher.