Vegan Tourtière
Tourtière is the classic Quebecois dish, also known as “meat pie”, that’s packed to the brim with ground beef and tossed in the oven to become a perfect golden-brown winter dinner. Forget the meat, and make some vegan ground beef that tastes amazing, if not better (but don’t tell the Quebecers - they’ll have my head).
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Introduction
As we move into the new year, we all set resolutions for ourselves - whether we announce them to the world or reply that we “don’t have any this year” while ruminating over the past year of takeout, unused gym memberships, and Uber Eats service fees. In fact, one could say that the one thing we all hold in common, whether from Toronto or Taiwan, is that some part of our New Year’s resolutions revolves around food - eating less of it, eating different kinds, or taking a plane to go eat it somewhere else.
So, if your goals include the first two, this recipe is yours. Kill two birds with one stone by eating something from Quebec that’s also plant-based. Don’t settle for a pie made of meat that’ll leave you with a two-day stomach ache, with the love handles and halitosis to match. Make this instead, forgo the discomfort and lose the love handles (you should definitely get that halitosis checked out, though).
The secret to this dish is to taste, taste, taste. Taste throughout and your final product will be better for it. Some may use a food processor to chop up the mushrooms - in my experience, you forfeit the texture by making the mushrooms too small, like a pate. Do it by hand, because, while it does take a bit more effort, you’ll be rewarded for it in the end.
Check out the Spruce it Up section for ideas on how to take this recipe to the next level.
Before We Get Started
Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hr. 15 Minutes
This includes 45 Minute baking time!
Total Time: 2 Hours
Yield: 6-8 Slices
Ingredients
Pie Dough
2 cup AP Flour
1/3 lb Vegetable Shortening
1/3 cup Dairy-Free Milk
Pinch of Salt
Cold Water (as needed)
Ground Beef
1/2 Carrot
1 Yellow Onion
3 Garlic cloves
250g Mushrooms
I used white, but cremini and shiitake are even better
1 and 1/3 cup Split Red Lentils (uncooked, rinsed)
2 tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 tbsp. Tomato Paste
1 tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
1 tbsp Chili Powder
1/2 tbsp. Cumin
2/3 cup Vegetable Broth
1/2 cup Peas
1/4 cup Corn
Method
Add your flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl. Cut up your refrigerated vegetable shortening into small cubes (about the size of a die), and add it to your flour. Using a pie dough cutter/blender or your fingers, crumble the vegetable shortening into the flour. Continue doing this until you’re left with a cornmeal type texture.
If using your hands, move quickly and lightly. The heat from your hands will melt the vegetable shortening and lead to poor texture in your pie dough. Better to use a fork.
Pour in your milk, and combine into your dough until the mixture comes together. If you can’t pick up all of the dough when you move your mixture about, add a touch of ice-cold water (~1 tbsp at a time), until you can form a ball of dough. Place some saran wrap on your countertop, place your dough in the middle, wrap it in the saran, and form it into a rough disc shape. Toss it in the fridge.
Finely dice your carrot, mushrooms, onion, and garlic. Put a large pan over medium-high heat, with oil. After it has come to temperature, add your carrot into the pan and hit it with a pinch of salt. Saute that for about a minute and a half before adding in your onion and garlic, again sprinkling with salt. Cook until the onion becomes translucent.
Keep your onion and garlic moving in the pan. It will allow the onion to cook through without the garlic burning. Alternatively, add your onion to the pan about a minute and a half before adding your garlic.
Preheat your oven to 375°F.
In a sieve, rinse your split red lentils until the water runs clear, then add the lentils to a pot. Cover with water approx. 1 inch above the lentils, add a pinch of salt, then place over high heat. Give it a stir every so often while it comes to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook it for approximately 5 minutes. Drain any remaining water.
While your lentils come to a simmer and cook, add your finely diced mushroom to the pan, and hit it with a three-finger pinch of salt. Stir to combine, and move the mixture about every so often until all of the water has released from the mushrooms and evaporated.
Do not skip on the salt at this point. The salt is what allows the mushrooms to release their moisture, and if they don’t, you’ll be left with watery ground beef.
Combine your lentils and mushrooms and add your soy sauce, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, chili powder, and cumin. Mix to combine. Add your vegetable broth, stirring everything, then bring it to a boil and reduce the vegetable broth until you’re happy with the consistency. Add your peas and corn, and mix to combine.
I aimed to have it slightly looser than the mixture was before the vegetable broth was added. You want to be able to pour it into the pie dough, but not so loose that it’s liquidy.
Turn off the heat on the pan when you’re happy with the ground beef, and give it a taste. Add any salt or seasoning needed.
Take your pie dough out of the fridge, and roll it out to approx. 1/4 inch thick. You want to have one portion that will act as the bottom of your pie, and another portion that will act as the lid.
Lay the bottom portion into the pie pan, allowing some of the dough to come up over the sides. Use a small knife to remove the excess, but leave a small amount draped over (~0.5 cm) as the dough may tighten slightly while in the oven. Add your ground beef mixture in, smoothing it over so that it does not come up over the top of the pie pan. Drape the second portion of dough over the top, and seal the edges of the two portions together.
Make some holes in the top of the dough to allow air to escape, brush with oil, and put it on top of a baking pan. Throw it into the oven for approximately 45 minutes (keep an eye on it after the 35-minute mark), and remove from the oven when golden brown.
Allow it to rest for about 30 minutes.
Enjoy.
Spruce it Up
Add some thyme into the pan when you’re sauteing your onions and garlic.
Toss in any vegetables you like - this is a great time to use leftover veg.
Spices like garlic and onion powder work well, as well as red chili flakes for a kick of heat.