French Canadian Tourtière
A French Canadian classic meat pie showcasing aromatic spices, and perfect for a Winter's day. Cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, garlic, thyme and veggies keep a combination of pork and beef company inside a savoury thyme and pepper pastry.
Ingredients
- 1 double crust pie pastry see archives for Perfect Pie Crust
- 2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes peeled
- kosher salt and cracked pepper
- 1 lb lean ground pork
- 1/2 lb lean ground beef
- 1 medium onion diced small
- 1/2 medium carrot diced small
- 1/2 celery rib diced small
- 3 medium garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 tsp dried sage
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or to taste
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1 egg mixed with 1 tsp water, for egg wash of crust
- 1/4 tsp finishing salt, like Maldon
Instructions
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Have a 9-10 inch deep dish pie plate ready. Or variation thereof.
Prepare the pastry making the savoury version found in my Perfect Pie Crust recipe. Divide the dough into 1/3 and 2/3 sized disks.
Fit the pie plate with 2/3 of the pastry. Trim to allow for the type of crimping you desire. Set into the fridge until needed.
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Preheat the oven to 425F and set two racks: one in the lower third and one in the middle.
Cut the potato into eighths. Put into a pot and cover with water, salt to season.
Bring to a boil. Reduce to medium and let cook till just tender (about 12 minutes)
Before draining, remove 1/2 cup of the potato water and set aside.
Drain the potatoes. Then, using a ricer, turn them into a fluffy mound of feathery potatoes and set aside. Alternatively you can use a masher, but the result will be a more chunky potato.
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In a medium large pot, combine the pork, beef, veggies, all the seasonings (but not the fresh parsley) and the potato water.
Cook over medium heat until the mixture has come to a boil. Stir to ensure that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot. Break up the meat, cook till it has become evenly small in size and is cooked through and the veggies are just tender, about 20 minutes in total. Much of the liquid should have evaporated etc. Remove from the heat.
Add the riced potato, salt and pepper to taste, and the fresh parsley. Stir. The potato should soak up any remaining liquids. Taste, and then season with salt and pepper. The potato water will have contained salt, so you may not need too much.
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Spoon the meat mixture into the pie plate prepared with the pastry. Press down firmly to let any air escape from the filling. There is enough filling for a 9-10 inch Deep dish pie. If you do have leftover filling, use a small ramekin or baking dish and cover with some scrap pastry.
Cover with the remaining pastry. Crimp or finish your edges as desired. Cut vent holes to allow steam to escape. Brush with a little egg wash (egg some water mixed together) Sprinkle with some finishing salt like Maldon.
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Place the pie plate on a baking sheet.
Bake in the lower third of the oven for 20 minutes.
Reduce the heat to 400F. Move the sheet and pie to the middle rack and continue baking of another 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. If you find that parts of the crust are starting to turn brown before the pie is ready, cover with tin foil or a pie crust protector.
Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes
My 'Perfect Pie Crust' recipe will work perfectly with this recipe. Use the savoury version, omitting any sugar and increasing the salt slightly. You can add fresh chopped herbs (I used thyme, but rosemary would work equally well)
You can use any pastry crust topping you'd like. Lattices and cut out work perfectly here, eliminating the need for venting. Just make sure that you don't leave too much of the surface of the meat exposed. You don't want to run the risk of it drying out.
Serve this with a hearty salad or coleslae, or even roasted broccoli or asparagus. You could make a lovely pot and demi glace reduction as a sauce. Or even a mustard and wine sauce would work. I'm totally old school and go for chutney. But that's because it brings me back to time spend in England. And it is the perfect contrast to this rich meat pie.