My favorite restaurant in the whole world is a meat grill in Honduras. It’s called El Patio and the place is configured as a giant version of its namesake, with terra-cotta tiles and outdoor furniture. It’s where you go to pack the tabletop with juicy steaks longer than your arm, yucca with crunchy chicharrón, fried plantains with crema, and clay pots full of beans and bubbling cheese heated with hot coals. It’s carnivore heaven, and while this pie is no charred churrasco, anything so laden with meat always brings me back to this place and the joys of its feasting scene.
2 disks Spinach Pie Dough
TOMATILLO SHORT RIB FILLING
2 pounds (907 grams) boneless beef short ribs, cut into 2-inch pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
¼ cup (59 milliliters) olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
4 large poblano peppers, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
6 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 pound (454 grams) tomatillos, husked and quartered
Two 12-ounce cans (355 milliliters) light beer
Juice of 2 limes
2 bay leaves
GEOMETRIC CUTOUT DESIGN NEEDS
Parchment paper
Rolling pastry wheel
Paring knife
Ruler
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Season the short ribs liberally with salt and pepper. Seriously, don’t be scared!
3. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the oil once hot. Working in batches, brown the short ribs on all sides. Remove them to a plate.
4. Add the onion, garlic, peppers, and carrots and sauté until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper and add the cumin, oregano, and cayenne. Add the tomatillos and cook until softened, 3 to 5 minutes.
5. Deglaze the pot with the beer and lime juice, scraping up the toasty brown bits on the bottom of the pot, and bring the mixture to a boil. Return the short ribs and the juices on the plate to the pot. Add the bay leaves and make sure the ingredients are mostly submerged in the liquid. Cover the pot securely and transfer to the oven.
6. Braise for 2 hours, until the meat is fork-tender. Season with salt to taste. Cool completely before filling the pie shell.
7. On a floured surface, roll 1 dough disk into a 13 × 15-inch rectangle. Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and unfurl it onto a sheet of parchment paper.
8. Using the ruler and the rolling pastry wheel, cut a 12 × 6-inch rectangle.
9. Cut the remaining dough surrounding the rectangle into approximately ½ × 15-inch strips and set the strips aside.
10. Using the pastry wheel or a paring knife, cut consecutively smaller rectangles within the 12 × 6-inch rectangle, alternating between ¼ inch and ½ inch in strip width. Make one final long-edge cut to divide the rectangles in half. I like to make this cut off-center so the halves differ in length for visual variety.
11. Slide a flat baking sheet under the parchment and place the pie top in the freezer until frozen solid, about 20 minutes.
12. Roll the second disk of dough into a 14-inch circle. Roll the dough onto the rolling pin and unfurl it over a 9-inch pie pan. Taking the edges of the dough, gently ease the dough into the pan, nestling it into the inner elbows of the pie pan. Trim the excess dough with kitchen shears to create a 1-inch overhang. Fold the overhang back under, creating an elevated edge.
13. Scoop the short rib filling into the pie shell and smooth with a spatula to create a flat surface.
14. Place the largest ½-inch-thick rectangle cutouts asymmetrically back to back on the surface of the pie, leaving ¼ inch between them. Place the remaining ½-inch rectangle cutouts on the pie, each cutout nesting in the next largest, leaving a ¼-inch space where the ¼-inch cutouts had been.
15. Complete the design by placing dough strips on either side of the center design, leaving ¼-inch space between each strip. Gently press all the strips to secure the edges. Run a paring knife around the edge of the pie to trim the excess.
16. Chill the entire pie in the freezer while the oven comes to temperature.
17. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
18. When the oven comes to temperature, remove the pie from the freezer and place it on a baking sheet. Bake the pie for 25 minutes, then rotate the pie 180 degrees and lower the oven temperature to 350°F. If the edges are already brown, cover with a shield. If the top begins to brown excessively, rest a sheet of foil lightly on top. Continue baking until the top crust is baked through and crisp, checking every 30 minutes to rotate the pie and adjust the shields as necessary, 50 to 75 total minutes. (If baking from frozen, add 30 to 45 minutes to the bake time.)
19. Cool the pie slightly on a rack before slicing and serving.
SUGGESTED SUBSTITUTIONS
Dough alternatives: Basic, Carrot, Spinach with poppy seeds, Whole Wheat Cheddar Chive
NOTE
The short rib filling can be made 1 or 2 days ahead.