San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Tourtière
Makes one 9inch tart; serves 6
Crust
3 cups ( 13 ounces) all- purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt or ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
14 tablespoons ( 7 ounces) cold, unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
6 tablespoons ( 2.5 ounces) vegetable shortening 6 tablespoons ice water
Filling
2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes ( about 14 ounces), peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions ( about 11 ounces), finely diced 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground pork
½ pound ground beef
1 ½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt
2 teaspoons minced fresh sage
1 ½ teaspoons minced fresh thyme
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
1 large egg, for egg wash
Flaky salt, such as Maldon, for topping
To make the crust: Combine about two- thirds ( about 8 ounces) of the flour, all the sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and shortening and pulse until the dough begins to clump, about 20 pulses. Add the remaining flour and pulse until the butter pieces are the size of chickpeas, then pulse in the ice water until the dough begins to gather in a very shaggy mass. Turn out half of the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and use it to gather the shaggy mass into a cohesive disk. Wrap the disk tightly and flatten it to an even thickness. Repeat with the remaining dough. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour; dough can be refrigerated for up to four days or frozen for up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the fridge before using.
To make the filling: Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan and add cold water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat and generously salt the water. Boil until the potatoes are soft, about 10 minutes, then drain, transfer to a large bowl and mash with a potato masher.
In a large frying pan heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic and a few generous pinches of salt and cook, stirring, until the onions are soft but not browned, about 6 minutes. Add the pork, beef, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, sage, thyme, pepper, nutmeg and allspice and cook, breaking up the chunks of meat with a wooden spoon, until the meat is cooked through and most of the liquid has cooked off, about 8 minutes. Add the meat mixture to the mashed potato and mix well to combine. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper and let cool completely ( the meat mixture can be made a day ahead; let cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate).
To assemble the pie: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and arrange a rack in the center. On a lightly floured work surface with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll one disk of dough into an 11- inch circle. Transfer the dough to a deep 9- inch tart pan with a removable bottom or a deep pie plate, working it into the corners and leaving the overhanging dough. Fill the pie with the meat mixture, smoothing it into an even layer. Roll out the second pie of dough and top the pie, crimping the two pieces of dough together. If using a tart pan, use the rolling pin to roll over the top of the tart pan to trim the overhanging dough. If you’re using a pie plate, trim the overhanging dough with scissors or a knife, press together to seal, then crimp the edge. If you’d like, you can cut decorative shapes from the extra dough that you trim off.
In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and 1 teaspoon of water to make an egg wash. With a pastry brush, brush the egg wash over the surface of the tart. ( If you’ve cut out decorative pastry shapes, place them on the surface of the egg- washed tart, then brush them with additional egg wash.) Sprinkle the tart with flaky salt and use the tip of a sharp knife to cut a few steam vents in the center.
Place the tourtière on a rimmed baking sheet and transfer to the oven. Bake until the pastry is deep golden brown, about 50 to 55 minutes. Remove from the oven, transfer to a rack and let cool slightly. Unmold ( if you’ve used a tart pan) and then cut into wedges and serve. tourtière can be baked ahead; rewarm in a 300 degree oven for about 20 to 25 minutes before serving.