• Growing up I have fond memories of my grandmother making a special pie each year.  Either for Christmas or for New Years.  I remember the smell of her kitchen, and the anticipation of yummy food to follow.  It was a family tradition.  Now that I have kids of my own, I want to continue the tradition with them too.  This pie is called Tourtière.  It originates from the Quebec region of Canada.

    It is not a sweet pie, but instead a savory pie.  And it is delicious!  The pie crust is flaky and tender, extremely light, and it’s filled with good meaty bliss.  Okay, enough with descriptions here as I’m making myself hungry.  Now let’s get down to business.

    To make tourtière you need pie crust.  I imagine you could use any pie crust recipe you wanted to, but I love it best with this recipe from my great, great, grandmother.

    4 cups flour
    2 teaspoons salt
    1 3/4 cup shortening
    1 large egg
    1 tablespoon vinegar
    1/2 cup ice water

    This makes four nine-inch pie crusts, or two twelve-inch pie crusts, depending on the size of your pan.

    Mix together your flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.  Put in your shortening using two forks or a pastry fork.  Keep cutting until the shortening is pea sized.  Stir in your vinegar, egg, and water. Continue to mix until a dough ball forms.

    Divide your dough in half, then in half again.  Place two of your dough balls into a plastic bag and freeze for another pie.

    Your remaining two dough balls can be rolled out for this pie.

    Roll them big enough to fit into your pie plate.  Place one in your pie plate, and set aside the other to be the top.

    To make the filling you will need:
    1 lbs ground beef
    1 lbs ground pork
    1/2 chopped onion
    3/4 cup beef broth
    1 teaspoon salt
    1/2 teaspoon pepper
    1/2 teaspoon allspice
    1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
    1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
    3 cups of mashed potatoes

    Heat your oven to 400 degrees.  Brown both the ground beef and pork in a medium to large saucepan.  The beef and pork can be substituted with ground turkey or any other meat substitute you may want to try.  Once browned drain the meat.  Add the onion and cook until transparent.

    Add the broth and simmer until the liquid is nearly gone.  Mix in your seasonings and potatoes.

    Add the meat and potato mixture into the prepared pie plate.  Cover with the remaining pie crust.  Flute the edges as normals, and slit to vent.

    Bake for about 30 minutes and serve!