It was a cool July Summer evening. The pink sun was drifting away and a cool breeze was wafting into the cottage from the Saint-Laurent River. But it did nothing to cool my nerves. The Oponda and Fry families were meeting for the first time. It was our wedding rehearsal dinner. I did what I always do to cope in dire straits - I ate. There was a large foil tray brimming with what looked like tender, juicy decadence. Someone was saying something about 10-hour slow cooking in Lac Saint-Jean, but it was just background noise. I was busy, absent-mindedly relishing the comfort I found in this food.
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| Our rehearsal dinner spread |
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| L-R Auntie, Mum, Dad |
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| I'll take some pasta bake with my tourtiere |
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| hubby and my father-in-law |
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| Two families becoming one |
Canada Day 2015 was my second time attempting to make Tourtiere. My take on it though is the speedy version. Using minced meat instead of cubed, cuts cooking time from 10 hours to 2.
TOURTIERE DU QUEBEC
Pastry
Sift 500g plain flour and 1 tbsp salt into a large bowl.
Get ready to get your hands dirty.
Dice a whole cold block of butter. Massage it into the flour with your fingertips.
When the mixture looks like breadcrumbs, gradually add 1/2 cup icy cold water.
Use less or more depending on how sticky the dough is.
Form a ball, then knead on a floured bench until smooth.
Wrap in cling film and refrigerate.
In the meantime get started on the filling.
Into a large pot place 1 chopped onion, 1 chopped potato and about 1kg of mince.
I used beef mince.
Traditionally pork and veal is used, and in Lac Saint-Jean game meat such as venison, rabbit and moose is used!
Add a teaspoon of cinnamon, nutmeg and ground cloves.
Cover with water to just cover the meat.
Place on a low simmer, stirring from time to time until the water is absorbed - about 2 hours.
Taste and adjust seasoning.
Roll out your pastry from the fridge to about 3mm thickness and line a pie dish or tin.
Laziness stopped me from blind-baking the crust which resulted in a bit of a soggy bottom.
Blind bake your crust! 15 minutes at 200C should be enough.
Scoop the filling into the pie crust.
Pop the lid on, pinching the edges to seal. Cut some ventilation slits in the top.
Brush with 1 beaten egg and you can use excess pastry to decorate the top like I did with this free-hand maple leaf!
Bake at 180C until the crust turns golden brown (about 20 minutes)
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| Tourtiere du Quebec and Tarte au Sucre (sugar pie) |
