Filo Dough with Meat Filling

Here is another one of my creations. I started making this sort of thing when I was in college, only with regular tortillas dipped in butter instead of the filo dough. Only a few months ago did it graduate to this form...which is probably where it will stay for a while, since it is truly fabulous just like this. Once again, I'll remind everyone that I never measure anything, so all the measurements are approximations... and especially with my main dishes, it's easy to play with the proportions and still get it roughly the same. 

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 lb filo dough

1.5 lb ground beef

2 large onions, diced (white, yellow, or sweet -- I've used all of them before)

1/2 lb of mushrooms, chopped

garlic

cinnamon

salt

oregano (I have some wonderful Turkish oregano from Penzey's Spices--but sometimes I use regular Italian seasoning too...and sometimes I use both!) 

1. Saute the ground beef with the onion and mushroom in a large skillet. When it starts losing its juices and becomes brown around the outside, add about 2 tsp of minced garlic and 2 tsp of cinnamon (I know it's a lot, but that's part of what makes it so good!). Sprinkle salt generously over the whole skillet and follow it with a healthy dusting of oregano (or Italian seasoning.) Once the meat is cooked through, test the mixture to see if you like the flavor. I usually end up adding more salt and cinnamon.

2. As the meat mixture simmers, prepare the filo dough by laying sheet by sheet in a casserole dish and brushing lightly with melted butter between each layer. Use about half for the bottom. 

3. Spread the meat mixture in the middle of the filo dough.

4. Layer the second half of the filo dough on top of the meat, pressing down around the edges. Fold the sides of the bottom layer of filo over the top layer. Brush the very top with whatever butter is left, and sprinkle a couple caps of lemon juice over the top. Bake at 350 till the top is puffed up a little bit and it's crispy and golden. Serve by cutting into squares.