Tourtiere Pie (Canadian Pork Pie)

An old tradition for French Canadian families around the Christmas Holiday--usually Christmas Eve-- includes tourtiere pie.  Usually made with ground pork or other game meat,  I used grass-fed ground beef & ground pork. It is a very simple recipe and super quick if you buy the crusts and line your own pans. I doubled the recipe and used about 1/2 tsp of the nutmeg and sage per pie. Don't skip the 30 minutes of simmering!  The gourmet flavor of the end result is going to surprise you.  RICH an Flavorful!

                                                       TOURTIERE  

1 1/2 lbs ground pork                               3/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup water                                         dash of pepper

1/2 c finely chopped onion                       dash ground sage

1/2 c fine dry bread crumbs.                    dash ground nutmeg

plain pastry for 2 crust 9 inch pie

Brown pork in skillet. drain off excess fat. add remaining ingredients except (and as if we didn't know any better) the pie crust.   Simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Line pie plate with half of crust. Turn mixture into crust. Adjust top crust and seal. Cut slits in top to permit escape of steam. Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes or till crust is a golden brown.

We had ours with roasted turnips and broccoli raab braised in rice wine. Terrific meal tonight!