Meat Pie (Québec Tourtière avec Raisins Secs)

Not many dishes spell special occasion more then Tourtière, a traditional Québecois dish, with as many versions as regions and households. The Tourtière is basically meat pie, made with everything from leftover stew, game meat, fresh duck or even sea food. The filing is moist and well-seasoned, the crust crispy and flaky. Heaven. Sadly, almost all the Tourtières I had up to now were made with low quality commercially purchased crust. Now don't you look at me like that. I am far from being a food snob, and will not dream of making my own puff pastry, but pie crust is really not that difficult to make. Honest. Especially if you own a food processor. Give it a try. I swear I won't make you buy one of those buckets of lard. Just think about the obscene amount of fat these commercial crusts contain. Don't you prefer to know exactly what's in it, especially if you are the kind that steals the crispy bits out of everyone's plate? It is surprisingly simple. And more surprisingly delicious.

Pastry:
½ cup butter, cold (125 g)
2 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
½ tsp. sea salt
½ cup water, cold, cut into cubes
1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tsp. water, for glaze

Filling:
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 Tbsp. Canola oil
ground beef (500 g)
1½ cups potato, grated, cooked (leftover mashed potatoes will do fine here)
⅓ cup raisins
1 tsp. dried thyme
kosher or sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ cup chicken broth

Make the Filling:
In a deep heavy pan, sauté onions in oil, until soft. Add beef, spices and raisins and stir while breaking up the meat.

Cook on medium-low heat. You are not looking to brown the meat here, just to cook it enough so it's no longer raw.

At this point, your pan will be full of juices. Add potatoes and broth and mix well, watching as the mixture grows thick and creamy. Remove from the heat and let cool while you make the crust.

Make the Pastry:
In your food processor, pour in flour and salt. Add cubed cold butter and start pulsing until butter is shredded. Pulse while adding water until the mixture turns into a lumpy bunch of dough balls. Pulse some more until it comes together.

Remove the dough from the food processor and divide balls into one bigger ball (for the bottom of the pie plate) and a smaller one for the top. Flatten the balls with your hand.

Spread a handful of flour on your counter or kitchen table and roll the bigger ball with a floured rolling pin (or a wine bottle) into a thin disc, slightly larger than your pie plate. Carefully, using the rolling pin, lift onto pie plate. Arrange using your fingers and don't be afraid to tear unnecessary excess on one end to patch up others.

Pour in cooled filling and flatten with spatula. Roll out smaller ball and place on top, pinching with your fingers to combine the two discs together. Re-apply cool technique of patching if needed. It probably won't look perfect but believe me, once golden and crispy, no one will notice.

With a sharp knife, cut a few decorative vent holes on top of your tourtière, thus conveniently hiding imperfections. Brush the top of your pie with beaten egg. There. You did it.

You are now faced with two options. One: place pie in the fridge until you are ready for it. Two: bake immediately.

Start with a 400°F (200°C/180°C fan, Gas Mark 6) for 10 minutes, then lower to 375°F (190°C/170°C fan, Gas Mark 5) until the pie is lightly golden. That would take about 40-45 minutes.

Let pie rest for a few minutes then dig" Tourtières are traditionally served with homemade ketchup but I just haven't gotten there yet.