Tourtière

In most French-Canadian homes, it is just not Christmas without tourtière, the iconic meat pie of Québec, traditionally served at Réveillon after midnight mass. Perhaps not surprisingly, there are as many recipes for tourtière as there are cooks who make it. And, of course, there are regional variations. In most of Québec and in New England, it is baked in a 9- or 10- inch pie plate with a bottom and top crust while in the Lac Saint-Jean and Saguenay regions of Québec it is usually a deep-dish casserole with only a top crust. The meat also varies, although pork is nearly always part of the mix, and sometimes the only meat. Beef and veal are often added as sometimes is chicken. Game—rabbit and venison—is popular along the Saguenay. The meat can be ground or diced. The filling usually includes a starch, commonly diced or shredded potatoes, although oatmeal or bread crumbs are also used, the last sometimes soaked in milk. The seasoning can be as simple as salt and pepper or include cloves, cinnamon, savory, and other herbs. My mother claims, evidence to the contrary notwithstanding, that her family is from Nova Scotia which, if it were so, might explain why her choice of seasonings was remarkably similar to those in haggis. (In fairness, her great-great-great-great-grandfather Daigle was Acadian.) This recipe is my own but it is near enough to my mother’s to evoke childhood memories but with a step back to the old country.

Note: this recipe will make a 9- or 10-inch pie, perhaps with a bit left over. Extra filling makes great sandwiches.

Ingredients

500 g (1 lb.) each ground beef and ground pork, preferably ground together

Vegetable oil, as needed

250 g (8 oz., 2 medium) onions, diced

2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced

350 g (12 oz., 2 medium) potatoes, shredded or diced

Water, as needed

15 ml (1 Tablespoon) ground cloves

5 ml (1 teaspoon) dried savory

1 ml (about ¼ teaspoon) ground cinnamon

Salt and pepper to taste

Pâte brisée for a two-crust pie

Method

Mix the meats together thoroughly and brown over medium-high heat in a heavy 12″ cast-iron skillet, working in batches if need be. Remove the meat to a strainer over a bowl and set aside to drain off excess fat.

Wipe out the skillet and add a bit of oil. Sauté the onions over medium-low heat until softened but not browned. Add the garlic and continue cooking for a couple more minutes. Put the diced or shredded potatoes into the skillet and add water to just cover. Cover, turn the heat to low, and simmer until the potatoes are partially done, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Return the meat to the skillet and combine with the potatoes and onions. Add water to barely cover. Sprinkle on the spices, herbs, and pepper and stir in. Simmer gently, uncovered, until most of the water has been absorbed or has evaporated. Add salt to taste along with additional spices and herbs if needed. Remove the meat mixture to dish and refrigerate, ideally overnight. Or, you can freeze it for later use.

When you are ready to assemble the pies, preheat the oven to 205°C (400°F). Roll out the pie dough into two rounds and line a pie plate with one of them. Fill with the meat and cover with the second crust. Crimp, trim, and decorate as you wish. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the crust is golden.

Ragoût de Boulette du Jour de l’An

My parents were part of the French-Canadian diaspora: the first generation to move from the mill towns of New England where French was heard more often than English and where school—Catholic school at least—was conducted in both languages. Growing up in Delaware I spoke French almost exclusively at home until I started school where there was no language but English. Gradually the language of the home became English—as sadly it has in those mill towns as well. Nevertheless, my mother did cook many traditional French-Canadian dishes although their context was sometimes lost. It was not until, as an adult, I started exploring my Canadian roots that I learned that the ragoût she made from time to time was associated with New Year’s Day, Le Jour de l’An.

As one might well expect of a recipe that has been handed down through a half-dozen or so generations, this one has nearly endless variations, each staking its claim to true authenticity. Still, there are a few invariables: balls of ground pork and beef cooked in stock thickened with a slurry of toasted flour. Most often the stock was purpose-made from pigs’ feet, the meat of which was shredded and added to the meatballs. Today it is not unusual to find recipes calling for chicken, rather than pork, stock. Mostly because pigs’ feet are rather difficult to find where I live, I use a stock made from a pork shoulder bone. The flavor is similar but it lacks the gelatin that the trotters impart. I have used chicken stock when nothing else was available, but the result is—to my taste—a bit flat. The spices always include cloves with some recipes calling for cinnamon and nutmeg while others specify allspice. I use all of them!

Finally, there is the matter of what to serve with the ragoût. Boiled potatoes and beets, boiled or pickled, are traditional. Louis-François Marcotte, chef and owner of Cabine M in Montréal, whose recipe I have translated and adapted here, suggests mashed potatoes. My mother always served it with boiled potatoes and beets boiled separately.

Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients
Bread, preferably stale, 2 slices	100 grams	3½ ounces
Milk	125 milliliters	4 ounces
Onion, minced, 1 small	100 grams	3½ ounces
Olive oil	30 milliliters	2 Tablespoons
Ground pork, lean	900 grams	2 pounds
Ground beef	450 grams	1 pound
Allspice, ground	3 milliliters	½ teaspoon
Nutmeg, ground	1 milliliter	¼ teaspoon
Cinnamon, ground	1 milliliter	¼ teaspoon
Cloves, ground, divided use	5 milliliters	1 teaspoon
Flour (optional)	60 grams	½ cup
Oil and butter, as needed	~60 grams	~¼ cup
Stock, preferably pork	1 liter	1 quart
Water, as needed, divided use	~500 milliliters	2 cups
Toasted flour (see note 1)	60 grams	½ cup
Corn starch (see note 2)	15 milliliters	1 Tablespoon
Salt and pepper	To taste	To taste

Method

Cut the bread into small dice or chop in a food processor. Moisten with the milk and set aside.

In a skillet over medium-high heat, caramelize the onions in the olive oil.

Combine the onions, bread, ground meats, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, and 1 milliliter (¼ teaspoon) of the cloves in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper then mix thoroughly with your hands. Rinse your hands, leaving them wet, and form the meat into balls about 25 millimeters (1 inch) in diameter. You should have about 40. If you wish, roll them in the optional flour to coat.

Heat enough of the oil and butter in a heavy skillet to coat the bottom by about 3 millimeters (⅛ inch). When it is nearly smoking, brown the meatballs, working in batches. As they are done, place them in a large Dutch oven or similar pot. Pour the stock over the meatballs and add just enough water to just cover them. Sprinkle on the remaining 4 milliliters (¾ teaspoon) of ground cloves. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer.

Put the toasted flour in a lidded jar along with about 125 milliliters (½ cup) of water. Shake vigorously to make a slurry. Add more water, a bit at a time, until it is about the texture of peanut butter. Stir into the stock. Simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes. If the sauce is too thin, make a slurry with corn starch and water, stir in and bring to boil for a couple of minutes.

Correct the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

NOTES

1: Toast flour in a dry cast iron skillet over medium heat or in a 200°C (400°F) oven, stirring often with a fork to prevent burning. It should be about the color of bread crust.

2: Pigs’ feet add quite a bit of gelatin to stock. A slurry of corn starch and water added near the end of cooking approximates the texture of the original. It is, however, optional.

Galettes de Sarrasin (Buckwheat Crepes)

Buckwheat, sarrasin in French, is not a grain but an herb. Naturally free of gluten it is a great substitute for wheat in crepes and pancakes. To make the latter just leave the batter thicker. The best pan for cooking either is one made of cast iron because of its superior heat retention. If you do not have a crepe pan use a skillet. You may have heard that crepes can be cooked on the back of frying pan but in my opinion that is an urban legend.

This recipe is translated and adapted from one by Stéphane Lecuyer.

Ingredients
Buckwheat flour	1½ cups	325 g
Baking powder	1teaspoon	5 ml
Milk	1 cup	250 ml
Eggs	1	1
Salt	½ teaspoon	2 ml
Cold water	1 – 2 cups	250 – 500 ml
Oil for cooking	as needed	as needed

Method

In a bowl combine buckwheat flour and baking powder. In a second bowl lightly whisk together the milk, egg, and salt. Slowly incorporate the liquid into the flour being careful not to over mix. Stir in cold water as needed to produce a thin batter about the consistency of heavy cream.

Heat a crepe pan or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. When a drop of water skittles quickly across the surface brush the pan with oil and pour in about 2 ounces, one quarter cup (75 ml) of batter. Swirl it around quickly to coat the pan. When the top is set and dry carefully turn the crepe, using a spatula to gently scrape it from the pan if needed. Usually the first crepe is a discard so do not be discouraged if it is not quite right. Continue to make the rest of the crepes, oiling the pan between each. To keep the crepes from drying out while you work, put them on a plate in a 300° oven covered with a large lid.

Serve the crepes hot with a bit of butter and sugar or use them in a recipe for stuffed crepes.

French Canadian Pea Soup

Mention pea soup to most Americans and they will most likely think of the version made from split green peas and used to great effect in The Exorcist. But to a French Canadian or Scandinavian the phrase conjures up a rich golden porridge made from whole yellow peas known as soup peas and flavored with meat, usually ham, and root vegetables—onions carrots, turnips, parsnips, etc. (Unless you live in Québec, northern New England, or near an IKEA store you will probably have to make do with split yellow peas.) What may come as a surprise to many is that Québécois pea soup often incorporates hominy (blé d’Inde lessivé) to which the settlers of New France were introduced by Native Americans. If you can find, or make, herbes salées (Québécois salted herbs) by all means add them at the end. A bit of dry sherry and perhaps a dollop of crème fraiche stirred in at the table is nice too.

Note: When I make pea soup I make a large pot of it and freeze it in quart containers. If you chose to make less this recipe scales easily.

Ingredients
Dried yellow peas	2 pounds	1 kg
Meaty ham bone	1	1
Onions, chopped	2 medium	2 medium
Carrots, scraped and chopped	2 medium	2 medium
Water	6 quarts	6 liters
Ground cloves	½ teaspoon	2½ ml
Ground black pepper	to taste	to taste
Dried white hominy*	6 ounces	180 grams
Herbes salées, optional	¼ cup	120 ml
Salt	to taste	to taste

*Note: two drained 15-ounce cans of hominy can be substituted for the dry

Method

Most recipes call for the dried peas to be soaked for several hours or overnight. Most authorities agree that this is unnecessary so I do not soak my peas. If you chose to do so you can reduce the first cooking time by about ½ hour. And if you use canned hominy you can reduce the second cooking time to about 30 minutes.

Rinse the peas well and put them into a large soup pot along with the hambone, onion, and carrot. Add the water, ground cloves, and a generous grind of black pepper. Bring to a boil, skimming off the foam as it forms. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer gently for 1½ hours. While the soup is simmering, soak the dried hominy in cold water.

After 1½ hours, remove the hambone from the soup and set aside to cool. Using a stick blender, or in batches in a food processor, puree the soup to a smooth consistency. Drain the hominy and add to the soup. Return to a low simmer, uncovered, for another hour adding a bit of water as needed. The soup will tend to stick to the bottom of the pot a bit so stir it frequently, scraping up any stuck bits. When the hambone is cool enough to handle, remove the meat, chop it, and add to the pot. When done, stir in the herbes salées, if using, and salt the soup to taste.

Québécois Pork and Beans

When I was growing up, baked beans were the standard Saturday night fare. My father told of how as a boy in a mostly French Canadian mill town in Connecticut it was his job on Saturday morning to take the bean pot his mother had prepared to the neighborhood bakery where it would cook in the baker’s oven all day. Leftover baked beans are still a Sunday breakfast staple in New England.

Although baked beans are often associated with Boston, the origin of the dish is most likely French, deriving from the cassoulet popular in the south of that country. Unlike Boston baked beans that usually contains only a small piece of salt pork fat for flavoring, Québécois fèves au lard contain a hearty quantity of leaner salt pork known as petit sales, similar to the pickled pork popular in Louisiana. (You can use store-bought salt pork but use less because it is so fatty.) In some parts of the province a partridge or chicken breast is tucked into the beans along with the pork.

A note on soaking: although many cookbooks advise soaking dried beans overnight, authorities differ about whether it is really necessary. Mexicans and other meso-Americans, who were eating phaseolus beans long before the Spanish introduced them to Europe, do not soak them. The theory that soaking reduces any “side effects” of eating beans is thoroughly discredited. So, I never soak dried beans.

Ingredients
Navy beans, dry	1 pound	500 grams
Water	8 cups	2 liters
Pickled pork or salt pork	12 ounces	350 grams
Onion, chopped	8 ounces	225 grams
Mustard, dry	1 teaspoon	5 milliliters
Black pepper, ground (optional)	1 teaspoon	5 milliliters
Molasses*	½ cup (5 ounces)	125 milliliters (140 grams)
Brown sugar*	¼ cup	55 grams

 

* In northern New England and Québec these beans are often made with maple syrup. In place of the molasses and brown sugar use ¾ cup (175 milliliters) of grade B maple syrup, if you can find it, or grade A dark amber.

METHOD

Rinse beans and pick through for any stones or defective beans. Put them into a large pot with the cold water, bring to boil, and simmer over low heat, partially covered, for about an hour. Or cook in a pressure cooker at 15 psi (100 kiloPascals) for 15 minutes. Wait a few minutes before releasing the pressure according to manufacturer’s instruction.

Preheat oven to 250°F (120°C). Drain the beans reserving the cooking liquid, and place them in a bean pot or casserole with a cover (I use a 3-quart enameled cast-iron Dutch oven). Cut the pork into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes and add to the beans along with the onions, molasses, brown sugar, mustard, and pepper. (If using store-bought salt pork, leave it whole then slice it when the beans are done.) Pour in enough of the reserved cooking liquid, to cover the beans then fold everything together. Save any remaining cooking liquid in case the beans start to dry and need more liquid.

Cover the pot and bake for 6 to 8 hours. Check occasionally to ensure the beans are not drying out and add reserved liquid or water as needed. Uncover for the last hour of cooking.

Herbes Salées

Salted herbs are used throughout Québec to season stews, soups, and other sauces, especially in the winter when fresh herbs are not available. Recipes vary regionally; some contain turnip, some carrots, some celery leaves, but all have some sort of onion. This combination is typical of Charlevoix, the region along the northern shore of the St. Lawrence River northeast of the city of Québec. Traditionally the chopped herbs and grated vegetables are layered with coarse salt in a small crock. I simplify the process by chopping everything in a food processor, mixing in the salt, and storing the mixture in a clamp-top jar in the refrigerator. I have kept them for several months with no problem but I urge you to smell them before using and discard if they seem off. Usually the herbs are used to salt as well as to flavor food but some people rinse off the salt before using them. I translated and adapted this recipe from the Web site Recettes de Québec.

Yield: about 1½ cups

Ingredients

• 1 carrot
• 1 cup celery leaves
• 3 scallions, white and firm green parts, coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh chives
• 2 tablespoons fresh savory leave
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves and tender stems
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
• Kosher salt, about ½ cup
• 2 tablespoons cold water

Method

Grate the carrot finely and set aside. Put the celery leaves and scallions in a food processor and chop, not too finely, you have about ½ cup total. Add the herbs and chop them too. Finally put the grated carrots into the food processor jar and pulse a few times to combine everything. Turn into a bowl and mix in the salt. Pack into a 2-cup (500 ml) clamp-top jar and tamp down gently. Pour in the water, close, and refrigerate. In about a week, pour off the accumulated liquid and your herbes salées are ready to use.

Baked Pork and Beans

When I was growing up, baked beans were the standard Saturday night fare. My father told of how as a boy in a mostly French mill town in Connecticut it was his job on Saturday morning to take the bean pot his mother had prepared to the neighborhood bakery where they would cook all day. And leftover baked beans are still a Sunday breakfast staple in New England.

Perhaps because of that baked beans are often associated with Boston. However, their origin is most likely French, deriving from the cassoulet popular in the south of that country. In French Canada they are cooked with a good amount of pork and are known as fèves au lard. While in English lard refers to rendered pork fat, most often belly fat, in French it refers to any subcutaneous pork meat and contains a lot of lean. Since French-style lard is generally unavailable in the US I make my own substitute by salt-curing pork shoulder according to a recipe from Bruce Aidells’ Complete Sausage Book, (Berkley, California: 10 Speed Press, 2000) 48. You could use store-bought salt pork but use less because it is so fatty. In northern New England and Québec these beans are often made with maple syrup rather than molasses.

A note on soaking: although many cookbooks advise soaking dried beans overnight, authorities differ about whether it is really necessary. Mexicans and other meso-Americans, who were eating phaseolus beans long before the Spanish introduced them to Europe, do not soak them. The theory that soaking reduces any “side effects” of eating beans is thoroughly discredited. So, I never soak dried beans.

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried white navy beans (use great northern beans if you can’t find navy beans)
• ½ cup molasses
• ¼ cup dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon dried mustard
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 pound pickled pork shoulder
• Generous grind of black pepper

Method

Rinse beans and pick through for any stones or defective beans. Put them into a large pot or pressure cooker and cover with cold water by at least two inches (about 8 to 12 cups). Bring to a boil, reduced heat to low, and simmer, covered, for about an hour or cook at high pressure in the pressure cooker for 15 minutes. Wait a few minutes before releasing the pressure according to manufacturer’s instruction.

Preheat oven to 250°F. Drain the beans reserving the cooking liquid, and place them in a bean pot or casserole with a cover (I use a 3-quart enameled cast-iron Dutch oven). Cut the pork into 1” cubes (if using store-bought salt pork, leave it whole then slice it when done) and add to the beans along with the onions, molasses, brown sugar, mustard, and pepper. Pour in enough of the reserved cooking liquid, and cold water if needed, to cover the beans then fold everything together. Save any remaining cooking liquid in case the beans start to dry and need more liquid.

Cover the pot and bake for 6 to 8 hours. Check occasionally to ensure the beans are not drying out and add reserved liquid as needed. Uncover for the last hour of cooking.

Mini Meatballs Québec Style

In Québec the New Year is often welcomed in with a meatball stew called Ragoût de Boulettes de le Jour de l’An. Here I have adapted it, sans the boiled potatoes and beets that traditionally accompany it, as a Christmas hors d’œuvres. And while the meatballs are usually simmered in the broth I have baked them and made only enough sauce to keep the warm for service.

Makes 84 meatballs

Ingredients

• 1½ pounds pork, I use loin
• 1 pound beef, I use eye round
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 egg
• ½ cup fine bread crumbs (or pulverized corn flakes for gluten free)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper
• ½ tsp. mustard powder
• ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1tsp. ground cloves
• 4 cups chicken stock
• ½ cup cold water
• ¼ cup flour (white rice flour for gluten free)

Method

Preheat the oven to 400° (375° for convection). Grind the pork and beef together first using a coarse blade then again using a finer blade. (Or you can use store-ground meat.) Put the pork, beef, chopped onion, eggs, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, mustard, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves into a large bowl and mix well.

Lightly oil two half-sheet pans. Form the meat mixture into ½-ounce meatballs, about ¾ inches in diameter, and arrange on the sheet pans. Bake in the hot oven for about 10 to 15 minutes.

To make the sauce, first toast the flour in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat or in the hot oven, stirring often to keep from burning. Mix the toasted flour into the cold water. Bring the chicken stock to a boil then add the toasted flour and water mixture. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

The meatballs can be made ahead of time but make the sauce just before serving and warm the meatballs in it for a few minutes.

French Canadian Pea Soup

Yellow pea soup is the signature traditional dish of Québec. In Canada and the heavily French regions of New England it is usually made with whole dried yellow peas known as soup peas. However those are difficult or impossible to find elsewhere so split yellow peas will do. Smoked ham hocks are probably the most common meat used in pea soup but a meaty hambone or even salt pork is often used. The soup always has onions, usually a carrot, and traditionally a bit of turnip. What may come as a surprise to many is that it sometimes contains hominy (blé d’Inde lessivé) which was widely used in the eastern parts of French Canada, now part of the Maritime Provinces. (My mother, being of Acadian extraction, always used hominy in her pea soup) If you can find, or make, salt herbs (herbes salées) by all means add them at the end. A bit of dry sherry stirred in at the table is nice too.

Ingredients

• 1 pound yellow split peas
• 1 meaty hambone
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, scraped and chopped
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 quarts cold water
• ⅓ cup dry white hominy or 1 can hominy, drained
• ¼ cup herbes salées, if using
• Salt to taste

Method

Soak the peas in a large bowl of cold water for at least 3 hours or overnight. (I usually don’t soak legumes before cooking them but for this recipe it is essential to getting a good texture)

Drain the soaked peas and rinse well. Put them in a large soup pot along with the hambone, onion, carrot, and generous grind of black pepper. Cover with the 3 quarts of water and bring to a boil, skimming off the foam as it forms. Reduce heat and simmer gently, partially covered for 2 hours. While the soup is simmering, soak the dried hominy in cold water.

After 2 hours, remove the hambone from the soup and set aside to cool. Using a stick blender, or in batches in a food processor, puree the soup to a smooth consistency. Drain and add the hominy. Return to a low simmer, uncovered for another hour adding a bit of water as needed. The soup will tend to stick to the bottom of the pot a bit so stir it frequently, scraping up any stuck bits. When the hambone is cool enough to handle, remove the meat, chop it, and add to the pot. When done, stir in the herbes salées, if using, and salt the soup to taste.