Every year our church has a pie sale, and for the last few years I have been making the traditional pies called 'Tourtière'. They are from my French Canadian background, and are usually served on Christmas Eve after Midnight Mass, during the celebration of 'Reveillon'. Every town, or perhaps, every family in Quebec has their own version of this classic pie. They are very filling, as they contain meat and spices. Some people add potato, as I do, and some do not. The meat can be pork, beef, veal, lamb, or a combination of any of them. I have not heard of a version with poultry, but there is a different pie for the birds, called `rappé pie`. Here is my version of Tourtière. I will have to work on finding - or creating - a gluten free dough recipe.
What you need: pastry for one double crust pie; 300 gr lean ground pork; 300 gr lean ground beef; 1/2 package (375 gr) of frozen shredded style hash browns; 1/4 cup minced onion; 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced; 1 tsp each: ground cinnamon, ground coriander, and dried summer savoury leaves; 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, or 2 tbs dried; salt and pepper.
What you do: Cook beef and pork until cooked through, stirring to break up the pieces. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place meat in a strainer and drain off the juices. Place the drippings into the fridge, and allow the fat to congeal. Place meat in a large bowl. Add potatoes, onion, garlic, herbs and spices. If fat layer has hardened, remove drippings from fridge. Lift off fat, and pour any juices back into the meat mixture. Stir the filling well, and taste, adjusting seasonings to your preference. Place bottom pie pastry in pie plate. Fill with meat mixture. Moisten edges of pastry, and cover with top crust, sealing and fluting edges. Make several cuts in top crust, to allow steam to escape.
Bake at 450F for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350F and bake for 30 minutes more.
This can be served hot or cold, but I like it hot best. Enjoy.
This recipe also freezes well.
No comments:
Post a Comment