Recipe for Arnopita – Greek Lamb Pita Pie

Written by Greek Boston in Authentic Greek Food Recipes, Greek Pie and Pita Recipes Comments Off on Recipe for Arnopita – Greek Lamb Pita Pie

Greek Lamb Pita Pie (Arnopita) Recipe Ingredients:

• 2 lamb shanks, cooked
• 1/4 cup of the pan juices from the lamb
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup almonds, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped orange zest
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped mint
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 15 sheets phyllo dough **
• Olive oil or melted butter, for brushing
• 1 egg yolk, scrambled with 1 tablespoon water

How to Prepare Greek Lamb Pita Pie (Arnopita):

Cut the lamb meat off the bones and chop it into small pieces. Place the chopped meat into a large bowl and sprinkle it with the lamb juices. If you don’t have any reserved lamb juice from the pan, use 1/4 cup of beef or lamb stock instead.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Brush a 9 x 13 baking dish with olive oil or melted butter. Add the olive oil to a skillet and heat it over medium. Add the onions, raisins, and almonds and saute the mixture over medium heat until the onions become translucent. Stir in the orange zest and fresh mint and immediately transfer the mixture to the bowl with the chopped lamb. Add the eggs and salt and continue stirring until everything is combined.

Place one sheet of filo into the baking dish and brush it with olive oil or melted butter. Repeat with 4 more sheets of pastry. Smooth 1/2 of the lamb mixture evenly over the filo and add another sheet of pastry over the lamb. Brush with olive oil or melted butter and repeat this step with 4 more sheets of filo. Smooth the rest of the lamb mixture over the filo pastry and top another sheet of filo. Brush the filo with olive oil or melted butter. Repeat with 4 more sheets of filo. Brush the last sheet of filo with more olive oil or melted butter, and then brush it again with the egg yoke and water mixture.

Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake until the top is a deep golden color. This should take about 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool on the counter in the baking dish for 5 minutes before serving.

** Feel free to make individual triangles instead of making the lamb pie in a baking dish. If you decide to make triangles, you’ll likely need more filo dough.

Categorized in: Authentic Greek Food Recipes, Greek Pie and Pita Recipes

This post was written by Greek Boston