Canadian Christmas traditions vary from region to region across the country, but one idea that’s made it beyond regional borders is serving tourtiere, or meat pie, on Christmas Eve.

I talked about this before Christmas on CBC radio (and asked listeners to send in their own recipes and stories about Christmas food traditions to win a gift package from Hallmark and President’s Choice). Listen here....

And I share my family recipe for tourtiere, a meat pie make with pork and potatoes that’s perfect for your own celebrations.

TOURTIERE
This is my Christmas Eve tradition, a rich, savoury meat pie served with a side salad and sweet gherkins, pickled beets or chutney to balance the richness. The filling is enough for three 9-inch pies - exactly the amount of pastry you'll have if you follow the recipe on the box of shortening or lard. Don't give in to your fear of pie crust - the recipe works!
From The Girl Can't Cook, by Cinda Chavich (Whitecap Books).

Pastry for three double-crust pies
Filling:
2 cups finely chopped onion 500ml
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup minced celery and celery leaves 250 ml
1 teaspoon olive oil 5 ml
2 pounds ground pork 1 kg
1 pound lean ground beef 450 g
1/2 teaspoon savoury 2 ml
1/2 teaspoon ground sage 2 ml
pinch of both ground cloves and cinnamon
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup water 250 ml
3 cups hot boiled potatoes, mashed or put through a ricer 750 l
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley 125 ml

In a large sauté pan, heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the chopped onion, garlic and celery until soft. Crumble the ground pork and beef into the pan and continue to cook, stirring, until no pink remains in the meat. Drain any accumulated fat from the pan, add the savoury, sage, cloves, cinnamon, salt, pepper and water, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir the mashed potatoes and parsley into the filling and set aside to cool. The filling should be cold, or chilled, to make sure the pastry doesn't get soggy.
Meanwhile, make the pastry following the instructions on the box of shortening or lard.
Chill the pastry for 1 hour before rolling. Roll pastry very thin and line three 9-inch pie plates. Fill each with 1/3 of the cooled meat mixture and top with pastry, sealing and fluting the edges with your fingers to form a ruffled border. Cut steam vents in the tops of the pies using a sharp knife. Brush pies with a mixture of egg yolk and milk, to glaze, and bake at 375°F for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown.
Pies can be filled and frozen, unbaked. Thaw in the refrigerator until pastry is soft then bake. Cool for 20 minutes before cutting. Makes three meat pies.

©Cinda Chavich 2010

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