A French Canadian Christmas Eve Quiche

One of the things I looked forward to each year when I was living in Canada was Christmas Eve. Before heading to church for Christmas eve service we sometimes had the fortunate pleasure of eating tourtiere, a French Canadian meat pie. My sister married into a French Canadian family and her mother in law always had tourtiere for the season. Made with a mixture of pork and beef, potatoes and spices the aroma always reminds me of family and friends during the Christmas season right till New Years. There are as many recipes as there are families, lovingly passed down to each new generation and I have my own recipe that I will share with all of you. But I also want to introduce something new and different, a breakfast layered meat pie and quiche. I developed this as a way to combine two great dishes into one unforgettable hybrid. When I first attempted this dish the quiche flowed into the meat creating just a meat quiche. Time for a solution and not backing down I melted a thin layer of cheese on top of the meat to create a barrier. I now could add a quiche Lorraine layer that remained separate making something truely unique and saving calories as a unexpected bonus. Of course you can just make the meat pie without the quiche half; just cover it with a pastry lid. Serve with poutine homefries (Coming soon).

Ingredients
 
 1 pound pork freshly ground
 1 pound beef freshly ground
 2 russet potatoes cooked and riced
 2 stalks finely diced celery
 1 medium onion finely diced
 2 tbsp. butter
 1 tsp. cinnamon
  large pinch ground cloves
 1 tsp. savory
 1 clove garlic finely chopped
 1/4 cup water

 2 cups grated Swiss cheese
 12 slices bacon cooked and chopped
 12 eggs
 1/2 cup milk or cream
 1 tsp. Herbes de Provence
 salt and pepper
 2 deep dish pie crust home made or store bought

Directions

Prepare the pie crusts (See below)

To get the best results I recommend grinding your own meat if you are able. Cut into 1 inch cubes and mix the pork and beef together when grinding. It will help if you partially freeze the meat first before grinding.

Boil or steam 2 medium russet potatoes in their skin until a knife easily pierces to the center of the potato. Peal and mash or if you have a ricer; cut in half and put into the ricer cut side down and rice. The skin will be left behind and can be easily discarded. Reserve until needed.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a skillet on medium heat melt the butter and add the garlic, celery and onion. Cook 3 to 5 minutes to soften then add the ground pork and beef and continue to cook until all pink is gone. Add the spices and water and mix to combine. Fold in the potatoes and cool until needed.

Blind bake the pie crusts until just starting to brown. If you have not done this before, don't worry; we just prick the bottom of the crust with a fork about 12 times, cover with some parchment paper, add dry beans to let the crust keep it's shape and put into the oven.

Brush the pie crust with a little beaten egg to help keep it from getting soggy. Split half the meat potato mixture to each pie crust and smooth down. It should come about half way up. Sprinkle a thin layer of grated cheese to cover the meat mixture and melt in the oven for 5 minutes. Beat the eggs in a bowl with the milk or cream and the Herbes de Provence, season with salt and pepper. Add to the pie crusts then add the bacon and cheese. Cook until the egg is fully set covering the exposed crust with foil to protect it from browning too much. Let cool for thirty minutes before serving. Makes two quiches. I sometimes make extra meat and potato mixture and make true Tourtières covering the meat pie with a pastry crust brushed with egg wash. Remember there is twelve days of Christmas and I always try to make some extra. They freeze well, for a great future meal!

There is a great recipe for pie crusts at the Smitten Kitchen. Follow this Link.

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