Oft described as the iconic Québécois dish served on Christmas Eve, or Réveillon de Noel, tourtière has a rich and flavourful history.  Some food historians claim that a version of this savoury meat pie dates back to a 5^th century French pastry, filled with the meat of the “tourte” or passenger pigeon.  Others insist tourtière, made with wild game, dates back to 1700’s New France.  Still others argue that the origin of the name came from “tourte” the term for tarts or rounds of bread. Originally, the tourtière was made with diced pieces of meat. Today, tourtière is usually made with a filling of ground beef, veal and pork, potatoes, onion, savoury, cloves, allspice and cinnamon, tucked between two deliciously flakey blankets of pastry.   Green tomato relish, traditionally served alongside tourtière, is the perfect foil for its richness.   But, don’t wait until Christmas Eve, tourtière is too delicious to eat only once a year!

Tourtière

Yield- three beautiful 9” pies.

2 lbs.                           ground pork

2 lbs.                           ground beef

2                                  onions, finely diced

2-3 cloves                   garlic, minced

1/2 tsp.                        cinnamon

1/4 tsp.                        cloves, ground

1/8 tsp.                        allspice

1/2 tsp.                        savoury, ground

3 tbsp.                         fresh thyme, minced

1 tbsp.                         fresh parsley, minced

2                                  potatoes, finely diced or cooked and mashed

1- 2 cups                     chicken or beef stock

To taste                       salt and pepper

One recipe of your favourite pastry, enough for three pies.

1)  Sauté meat, onions, and garlic.  Depending on the fat content of the ground meat, you may like to skim.

2)  Simmer until thickened with all other ingredients.  I sometimes just dice the potatoes and let them simmer in the filling until very soft or add mashed potatoes when the filling is thickened.  Some recipes call for breadcrumbs to help thicken, but I prefer to reduce the filling by simmering to thicken.

3)  Season to taste with salt and pepper and let cool.

4) Line three 9” pie plates with pastry and fill.  Cover with a top layer of pastry and decorate with remaining bits of pastry, if you are inspired.  Slash a few steam holes and brush with beaten egg. 

5). Bake for 40-45 minutes in a pre-heated 375 F.  Or, until the crust is nicely browned.

Alternatively, you can freeze the tourtières and bake from frozen.  The cooking time is roughly 60 minutes

Serve the tourtière with a tart chutney or pickle relish.

ps… the featured photo is from an auction I held a few years ago- Pies for Peace. It is definitely time to hold one again.

pps… an earlier version of this article was published by Adventure Canada.