"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters to what lies within us" ... Ralph Waldo Emerson

Tourtière & Pâté de Millet

So continuing with recipe time…I am posting two more recipes for Christmas. The first, tourtière is a traditional French-Canadian dish that is traditionally eaten on Christmas Eve, during the ‘Réveillon’. The second is a vegetarian version, Millet Pie.


I will not venture into the tourtière debate, so go to Wikipedia and read about it there. The photos below show a regular tourtière on the right a tourtière du Lac Saint-Jean, here is a recipe and I hope you have lots of people over, as I made this last year and ended up eating it for a week.



Tourtière

Both of these recipes came from my mother-in-law, Allixe. The tourtière filling is her traditional recipe and the Pâté de Millet is one she has been making for awhile. I also made this last year and I love it…so on to the recipes…



OK…the crust, so to save myself some time…just use your own or get one from a good cookbook, I use ‘Fannie Farmer’ when I need more traditional recipes.



The tourtière ingredients are; (this makes 5 pies)

  • 2 lbs. ground pork
  • 2 lbs. ground veal
  • 1 medium onion – diced fine
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp pepper
  • ¼ tsp cloves – ground
  • ¼ tsp cinnamon – ground
  • 15 soda crackers – crushed (not too fine)


Tourtière – Technique:

  1. Place the meat, onion, salt & pepper in a large pot and add warm water just until level with the meat.
  2. Cook slowly for about 3 hours, mixing every once in awhile.
  3. When most of the water has evaporated, add the spices and crackers, your choice whether to use salted or unsalted.
  4. Boil for about 15 minutes, taste and adjust seasoning’s.
  5. Let it cool before assembling the tourtières.
  6. Cook in a hot oven, about 375°-425°, depending on your crust recipe.



The millet pie ingredients are;

  • 1¼ cups millet (could be less & replaced with oatmeal. I haven’t done it but I have seen it in other recipes for this pie)
  • 3½ cups vegetable bouillon
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1-2 cloves
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • ½ cup diced carrot
  • ½ cup diced celery
  • ½ cup diced potato
  • 1 medium onion – diced fine
  • 1 clove garlic – diced fine
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp Tamari or a good soya sauce
  • ¼ tsp of cinnamon, celery seed (salt), all-spice & dried parsley – all ground
  • salt & pepper to taste


Millet pie filling – Technique:

  1. Put the millet is a pot, dry over low heat for 1-2 minutes.
  2. Add the hot bouillon, bay leaf & clove(s)and cook for about 20 – 30 minutes.
  3. Remove from heat, cover and let stand until the liquid is absorbed.
  4. Cook the carrots, onion & celery for about 10 minutes (until soft), then add the garlic for a minute or two, then add potatoes and cook for a few more minutes.
  5. Mix the millet, veggies, egg & spices and remember to remove the cloves & bay leaf.
  6. Fill the pie crusts, top one could be coated with an egg wash. Cook in a 350° oven for about 35 minutes.


Enjoy!!! & Joyeux Noël

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