Last week we made a traditional Tortière. This week we’ve added a little Southwestern flair to the meat pie by adding in our favorite fruit, Green Chile! We had to add a couple of other ingredients to take the heat level down a bit, so the Northern boy’s could still eat this. We also discovered that topping these with flakes of cheese, doesn’t really work. That is what those flakes that look like chocolate are on the crust.
Serves: 16 – 22 (2 pies)
Ingredients
Filling
- 1 lb of Ground Pork
- 1 lb of Ground Beef
- 1 cups Water
- 1 large White Onion, finely chopped
- 2 Russet Potatoes, cubed to 1/2 inch size
- 6 Roasted Green Chile, cleaned and diced
- 4 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp ground Black Pepper
- 1 Tbsp All Spice
- 2 Tbsp Sage
- 1 tsp Rosemary
- 1 tsp Nutmeg
- Salt to taste
The Rest
- 2 9 – 1/2 inch Pie Pans
- 4 Pastry Pie Crusts, 2 for each pie (this time we tried Gluten Free)
- 4 Large Eggs
- 1/2 cup Mexican Crema or Creme Fraiche
- 1/2 cup Asadero Cheese, shredded
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
Preparation
Filling
First prepare your roasted Green Chile. I pick up good Anaheim or NM Big Jim Green Peppers and roast them on the grill until the skin is turning mostly black. Then allow them to cool until your can handle them. Clean by removing the skin and stems. Dice this up into 1/2 inch pieces.
In a large skillet (cast iron if possible), over medium-high heat, add the meat and water and bring to a boil. Add everything else except for the Salt. Reduce the heat to low, cover and continue cooking for one and a half hours. Stir this about every 15 – 20 minutes. Add a little more water if the mixture dries out. Near the end add the Salt. When done this mixture should contain just a thin layer of liquid in the bottom of the skillet. Remove from heat and place in a container and refrigerate until final assembly.
If you really want to get tricky, de-glaze the skillet with 1/4 cup of red wine, and save that separate to add in during final assembly.
Pie Crusts
Again I used store bought crusts, these were from Trader Joe’s and were gluten free and even tastier than the others. Just remember that you need enough for the top and bottom of the pie.
Final Assembly and Cooking
Preheat oven to 420 F. In a large mixing bowl and add in the Eggs, Crema and Cinnamon and mix thoroughly, whisking for at least 4 minutes. Then mix in the filling you prepared above and the Asadero Cheese. Halve this mixture and place into each of the pie crusts. Place the top layer of crust on top of the filled pie. Trim the pastry and make sure to seal the edges. Cut some steam vents in the top crusts. This is where I went wrong with the sprinkling of some Cheese on the top of the meat pies. Just don’t do it. It doesn’t ruin the flavors, it just raises questions. Wrap the edges with 2 inch strips of aluminum foil. Put into the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the foil strips and reduce the heat to 375 F, and bake for another 25 minutes or so. Remove when the crust is golden. Either serve or pack them up to take to the to the rink.