Slab-style Tourtiere
This French-Canadian classic is traditionally served during the holidays, but it’s perfect for family-style meals year round. This version is baked as a slab — a square of puff pastry filled and folded into a long rectangle, baked and served in slices or wedges. It’s a technique you can use for any number of sturdy fillings, sweet and savoury.
Servings 6
Ingredients
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 1 carrot, grated or chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely crushed
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1/2 lb ground pork (or 1-2 cups chopped leftover roast pork)
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 tsp ground)
- 1 tsp dried sage
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup chicken, beef or vegetable stock
- 1 medium thin-skinned potato or 1/2 small rutabaga, peeled and diced (or 1/2-1 cup leftover mashed potato)
- 1 pkg frozen puff pastry
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- In a large skillet, heat a drizzle of oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion, celery and carrot for 4-5 minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic, beef and pork; cook, breaking meat up with a spoon, until the meat is no longer pink. As it cooks, sprinkle with thyme, sage, salt and pepper.
- Pour in the stock and potato (or rutabaga) and cook, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until most of the moisture has cooked off. Set aside to cool slightly.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry out to a 14-15-inch square and transfer to a parchment-lined sheet, positioning it with half the square on the sheet and the other half hanging over (the over hang will fold over the other half).
- Pile the filling onto one half of the pastry, leaving about an inch around the edge, and fold the remaining pastry over it.
- Press down around the edges with the tines of a fork to seal. Brush the top with egg and cut a few slits with a knife. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and golden.