Tourtiére tart

126

PREP TIME

30 min

TOTAL TIME

3 hrs

Makes

6 Servings

Tourtiére tart

Photo, Roberto Caruso.

Christmas Eve is the perfect time for a raucous family party that lasts well into the night. We've updated a traditional French Canadian dish to help you get the festivities started. Simply light the fire, get cozy and dig in!


Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/3 cup shortening
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs

Filling

  • 1 large white potato , peeled, about 300 g
  • 500 g ground pork
  • 1 medium onion , finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove , minced
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
  • 1/2 tsp dried sage
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp ground cloves
  • 1 tbsp water

Instructions

  • MELT butter with shortening and water in a small saucepan set over high. Stir and let cool slightly.
  • STIR flour with salt in a large bowl. Beat 1 egg with white from second egg in a small bowl. (Reserve yolk for egg wash.) Stir beaten eggs into flour mixture along with warm butter mixture. Using your hands, knead dough just until it comes together. Remove about one-third of dough and shape into a small log. Shape remaining dough into a larger log. Wrap both with plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
  • CUT potato into bite-sized pieces and cover with water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until very tender, 10 to 12 min. Drain, then mash.
  • HEAT a large frying pan over medium- high. Add pork, onion and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until pork is no longer pink, about 5 min. Stir in Dijon, thyme, sage, salt and cloves. Season with fresh pepper. Stir in potato and cook until liquid is absorbed, about 2 more min. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until completely cool, about 30 min.
  • PREHEAT oven to 375F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Dust counter and rolling pin with flour. Roll smaller log into a 6 × 12-in. rectangle. Pastry may look marbled. Transfer to prepared sheet. Roll larger log into a 8 × 15-in. rectangle. Fill and decorate tart according to directions (right).
  • BAKE in centre of oven until pastry is golden and filling is bubbly, 40 to 45 min. Transfer to a rack. Let stand 10 min before serving.

Pair it with

Best when served with buttered root vegetables and quick pickled cucumber.

 

Prep tips

  1. Make pastry and filling in advance; assemble just before baking.
  2. If corner crusts are not a family fave, shape tourtière into an oval.

Nutrition (per serving)

  • Calories
  • 620,
  • Protein
  • 25 g,
  • Carbohydrates
  • 50 g,
  • Fat
  • 35 g,
  • Fibre
  • 3 g,
  • Sodium
  • 635 mg.

Tourtière How-To

1. Mound chilled filling along the centre of of smaller pastry rectangle, leaving a 3/4-in. border around the edges. Lay larger piece of pastry on top of filling, pressing edges together.
2. Trim and straighten edges with a paring knife. Press the tines of a fork around the edges to crimp.
3. Beat egg yolk with 1 tbsp water. Brush egg wash all over pastry. Cut 4 slits on the top of the pastry.
4. Gather remaining dough and roll out to 1/4-in. thick. Use cookie cutters or a paring knife to cut out different shapes and designs. Place on top of pastry, then brush with remaining egg wash.