tdc's Sunday Family Dinner

Christmas in Quebec means families gathering for Réveillon and tourtière, the traditional savoury pie filled with delicately seasoned ground pork.

As with so many heirloom recipes, the number and kind of ingredients depend on your source, but the consensus is always the same on its delicious appeal.

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil 15 ml
2 lb ground pork 1 kg
1-1/2 cups beef stock 375 ml
3 onions, finely chopped 3
3 cloves garlic, minced 3
2 cups sliced mushrooms 500 ml
1 cup finely chopped celery 250 ml
3/4 tsp Salt 4 ml
1/2 tsp each cinnamon, pepper and dried savory 2 ml
1/4 tsp ground cloves 1 ml
1 cup fresh bread crumbs 250 ml
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley 125 ml
Pastry for double-crust 9- or
10-inch (23 or 25 cm) pie
1 egg
1 tsp water 5 ml

In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; cook pork, breaking up with wooden spoon, for 7 to 10 minutes or until no longer pink. Drain off fat.

Stir in stock, onions, garlic, mushrooms, celery, salt, cinnamon, pepper, savory and cloves; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, stirring occasionally, for 35 to 45 minutes or until about 2 tbsp (25 ml) liquid remains.

Stir in bread crumbs and parsley. Cover and refrigerate until cold or for up to 24 hours. On lightly floured surface, roll out half of the pastry to 1/8-inch (3 mm) thickness; fit into pie plate.

Spoon filling into pie shell, smoothing top. Roll out remaining pastry. Moisten rim of pie shell with water. Cover with top pastry, pressing edges together to seal. Trim and flute edge.

Beat egg with water; brush some over pastry. Cut decorative shapes from remaining pastry and arrange on top; brush with some of the remaining egg mixture.

Cut steam vents in top; bake in 375°F (190°C) oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden. Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Per each of 8 servings: about 478 cal, 26 g pro, 29 g total fat (9 g sat fat), 26 g carb, 2 g fibre, 81 mg chol. % RDP 4% calcium, 19% iron, 4% vit A, 10% vit C, 16% folate.

Variation

Turkey Tourtière: Substitute turkey or chicken for the pork. Substitute chicken stock for beef stock. Omit cinnamon, savory and cloves. Add 16 tsp (2 ml) dried marjoram and 1/4 tsp (1 ml) dried thyme.

And if you want a little boost to the flavour of your tourtière, just add a few drops of molasses to the pastery before you serve it.

Tip

To make tourtière ahead of time, omit pastry cutouts. Wrap and freeze unbaked pie for up to 2 months. Partially thaw in refrigerator for 6 hours or until pastry gives slightly when pressed. Cut steam vents and brush with glaze. Bake in 375°F (190°C) oven for 1-1/4 hours or until heated through and pastry is golden, shielding edge with foil if necessary during last 30 minutes.

Our thanks to Canadian Living Test Kitchen

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