There is nothing like the savoury scents and tastes of specially prepared dishes cooked for the holidays. In Europe it’s commonly roast goose with unique regional desserts served; whether its Christmas pudding in the UK, Marizipan in Germany, or 13 desserts (representing Jesus and the apostles) for le gros souper or réveillon (long dinner) in France. In North America, turkey with all the trimmings reigns supreme at the dinner table with the dessert served often a reflection of your heritage and region — from butter tarts to shortbread to pumpkin or pecan pie.
Being Canadian with family originally from the Maritimes, we’ve incorporated one of my favourite French Canadian dishes into our repertoire of Boxing Day meals, the Tourtière. The “meat pie” is a traditional part of the Christmas Eve réveillon and New Year’s Eve meal in Quebec. Oddly enough, the name is derived from the Passenger Pigeon, or tourte in French which was the original ingredient in Tourtière. I stick with ground turkey and have incorporated our recipe below. Given the savoury, spicy elements in the dish we suggest pairing with the Township 7 Syrah and serve with a cranberry chutney and fresh green salad. Bon appétit and bonne année!
INGREDIENTS
For Filling
1 small onion minced
1 3/4 lbs ground turkey (you can substitute ground pork or lean ground beef)
1 ½ cups of plain croutons
1 can organic chicken consommé or stock
½ tsp salt (optional)
½ tsp pepper
¼ tsp ground thyme
¼ tsp marjoram
2 tsps Worcestershire sauce
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp cinnamon
For Pastry
2 ¼ cups pastry flour
¾ cup shortening
4-8 tbsp cold water
1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
dash cayenne pepper
½ tsp paprika
METHOD
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Pastry – use deep dish pie plate
Make a pastry for a double crust pie. NOTE: mix flour, shortening and cheese mixture (cheddar cheese, cayenne pepper and paprika) before adding cold water to pie pastry; then add water. Form into round ball, cover and let rest for 20 minutes in the fridge
Filling
Saute onion
Add ground turkey and spices and brown
Add chicken stock or consommé and croutons. Simmer for 15 minutes
Assembly
Roll out bottom crust and place in pie plate.
Pour filling from frying pan onto the bottom crust; then cover with the top crust. Once top crust is on – make slits and optionally garnish with decorative pastry cutout
Cook for 45 minutes.
