Chicken Heart and Beef Pie

For those who never tried chicken hearts before, then you should. It's delicious! 

For those who are reluctant to try, let me tell you this: If I served this pie to you without telling what's inside, odds are you'll never guess. But you'll love it anyway.....

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cubed
• 3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 4-6 tablespoons cold water

For the filling:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium sized onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1 cup chicken hearts, cut into thin strips
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen green peas
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

For egg wash:

• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 tablespoon milk

Directions:

• In a food processor, combine butter and flour, pulse until they look crumbly. Add egg to the flour mixture, continue blending and add water a little at a time until the mixture take paste form. Roll the dough into 2 balls (one bigger than the other), wrap with plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Note: If you prefer to make your crust by hands, feel free to do so. Me, I have 2 left thumbs. So without shame I admit this to you, that my food processor does a much better job than my own hands in making pie crust. 

• Heat the oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, stir occasionally and cook until the onion become translucent. Add chicken heart, ground beef, peas, chicken stock and thyme into the pan, cook until the meat is no longer pink. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and let it cool down completely.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degree F. Grease the pie pan with non-stick spray. Beat the egg yolk and milk in a small bowl, set aside. 
• On a floured surface, take the bigger ball and roll out the dough into a big circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Line the pie pan with the dough, make sure that the bottom and sides are smooth. Put the filling in lined pie pan. Take the smaller dough ball, and roll it out into another big circle, about 1/8-inch thick. Cover the pie with the dough and cut the excess dough around the edges. Seal the top edges by pressing fork around the pie. Take a knife and make some slits on the top of the pie, to let the steam to come out. Brush the entire top with egg wash.
• Bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until the crust begin to brown. Remove from the oven, cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Note: Pictures are of mini pies that I made using muffin pans. The same assembly process, with 2 tablespoons of filling in the center.