Murcian meat pie is a type of

meat pie A meat pie is a pie baked with pastry with a filling of meat and often other savory ingredients. They are found in cuisines worldwide. Meat pies are usually baked, Frying, fried, or deep-fried to brown them and develop the flavour through the ...

made with

puff pastry Puff pastry, also known as , is a light, flaky pastry, its base dough () composed of wheat flour and water. Butter or other solid fat () is then layered into the dough. The dough is repeatedly rolled and folded, rested, re-rolled and folded, encas ...

and filled with

minced beef Ground beef, hamburger, hamburger meat (North American English), minced beef or beef mince (Commonwealth English; often just generically referred to as ''mince'' or ''mincemeat'') is beef that has been finely chopped with a knife or meat grind ...

chorizo ''Chorizo'' ( , ; ; see #Names, below) is a type of pork sausage originating from the Iberian Peninsula. It is made in many national and regional varieties in several countries on different continents. Some of these varieties are quite differe ...

boiled eggs Boiled eggs are typically from a chicken, and are cooked with their shells unbroken, usually by immersion in boiling water. Hard-boiled or hard-cooked eggs are cooked so that the egg white and egg yolk both solidify, while soft-boiled eggs may l ...

and

spices In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

. The pie originates in the

Region of Murcia The Region of Murcia (, ; ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain located in the southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. The region is in area and had a popul ...

, Spain, particularly in the municipalities

Murcia Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...

Santomera Santomera is a Spanish municipality in the autonomous community of Murcia. It has a population of 16,105 (2018) and an area of 44.2 km2. It shares borders with Fortuna in the north, with Murcia in its west and south and with the province of ...

, Cieza,

Abanilla Abanilla is a Spanish municipality located in the Comarca Oriental (composed by Fortuna and Abanilla) in the Autonomous Community of Murcia. It lies close to the border of the province of Alicante in the Autonomous Community of Valencia. Ge ...

and the neighbouring town

Orihuela Orihuela (; ''Corpus Toponímic Valencià''. Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua. 2009, València.) is a city and municipality located at the foot of the Sierra de Orihuela mountains in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain. The c ...

. It has roots in

Arab cuisine Arab cuisine collectively refers to the regional culinary traditions of the Arab world, consisting of the Maghreb (the west) and the Mashriq (the east). These cuisines are centuries-old and reflect the culture of trading in ingredients, spices, ...

History

Meat pies have been eaten in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. They were consumed in much of Spain and the Murcian recipe has been preserved to this day, enriched by local gastronomy. In 1695, a mandate by Charles II established the correct measurements, the quality of flour to be used and outlined exile penalties on artisans who did not comply with the standard. Since 2009, a day is dedicated to celebrating the Murcian meat pie in Murcia each April. During this day, thousands of meat pies are distributed free of charge to the entire public in Murcia. Due to its national fame and its tradition in regional gastronomy, it is sold across many other

regions of Spain The autonomous communities () are the first-level administrative divisions of Spain, created in accordance with the Spanish Constitution of 1978, with the aim of guaranteeing limited autonomy to the nationalities and regions that make up Spai ...

outside the Region of Murcia.

Characteristics

Its circular base is made of

shortcrust pastry Shortcrust is a type of pastry often used for the base of a tart, quiche, pie, or (in the British English sense) flan. Shortcrust pastry can be used to make both sweet and savory pies such as apple pie, quiche, lemon meringue or chicken pie. ...

and its upper coverage is made of fine puff pastry in the shape of a spiral. Each pie serves one person, with each pie being about 15 cm in diameter. There is a variety called "especial" that incorporates lamb brains into the basic filling.

Local variations

Yecla: Murcian meat pies from here generally do not have the characteristic spiral on its top.

References

{{reflist Spanish egg dishes Appetizers

History

Characteristics

Local variations

See also

References