Tourtière, the classic French-Canadian meat pie, is a holiday favourite of many Canadians, including those with and without French roots. Part of a traditional reveillon – a long dinner held on Christmas Eve – tourtière includes a combination of savoury and sweet spices that give it a distinctive and oh so appealing taste. For those who find a mostly-meat version a little on the heavy side, I’ve lightened up the texture a little in this recipe by adding in a lot of chopped vegetables.
Pre-made frozen tart shells are super easy to work with and the filling can be prepared up to a month ahead and frozen. You can also fill and bake the tarts up to three days ahead and reheat gently when serving. Serve these tarts with a variety of condiments, such as chili sauce, salsa or cranberry chutney.
Ingredients
Directions
Cook pork in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until no longer pink.
Add oil, then add onion, celery and carrot. Sauté for about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes longer, until all vegetables are softened.
Add stock, savory, cinnamon and cloves. Simmer for about 5 minutes or until almost no liquid remains. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Let cool for 15 minutes then refrigerate or freeze until you are ready to fill and bake tarts. If frozen, thaw meat carefully before proceeding.
Preheat oven to 425F.
Place frozen tart shells on a baking sheet and fill shells with meat mixture.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve warm.
Makes enough filling for about 30 tarts.
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