Mme Benoit's Tourtière

Tourtière is a French Canadian meat pie which is traditionally served at Christmas. It may be made from pork, beef or a combination of meats sometimes including veal. Different regions in Quebec have their own traditional recipes. Some regions use game such as hare or duck rather than beef and pork. The pies should not have too much filling as they are just a part of the whole traditional Christmas dinner. It's usually served with tomato ketchup. This recipe is the creation of Mme Jehane Benoit, a famous Quebec cooking expert who received the Order of Canada for her contributions to Canadian cuisine. I found this recipe on recipesource.com and on blogger.com where it was posted by Lizzy Ferland. It is originally from the Canadiana Cookbook.

• Ready In: 1 hr 15 mins
• Serves: 4
• Yields: 1 pie

Ingredients

• 1  lb ground beef (or combination of beef and pork, or beef, pork & veal)
• 1  small onion, chopped
• 1  garlic clove, minced
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon  celery salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon clove, ground (a must for authentic Quebecois pie)
• 1⁄2 cup water
• 1⁄4-1⁄2 cup  breadcrumbs
•  pastry for a double-crust 9-inch pie, of your choice

Directions

1. Place all ingredients except breadcrumbs and pastry in a saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 20 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and add a 3 or 4 spoonfuls of breadcrumbs.
4. Let mixture stand for 10 minutes.
5. If the fat is sufficiently absorbed by the breadcrumbs, do not add more. If not, add more crumbs in the same manner.
6. Cool mixture and spoon into a pastry-lined pie plate.
7. Cover with crust and bake at 400F until golden brown (follow directions for pie crust you chose).
8. Serve hot.
9. NOTE: Cooked tourtière may be frozen for 4 to 5 months and does not need to be thawed before reheating.
10. To reheat, place your frozen tourtiere (covered in foil) in a medium oven and bake until a knife inserted in the center is hot when you pull it out.