Canadian cuisine is a mix of French traditions, British influence, and unique local solutions. Today we're making two iconic dishes without which you can't imagine real Canada.
🥧 Tourtière
Traditional Québécois meat pie with spiced pork and beef filling, baked in flaky pastry. Hot pie exudes the aroma of cinnamon and cloves—a classic of the French-Canadian Christmas table.
Ingredients:
For the dough:
• All-purpose flour — 400 g
• Cold butter — 200 g
• Ice water — 100 ml
• Salt — 1 tsp
• Egg for brushing — 1
For the filling:
• Ground pork — 400 g
• Ground beef — 200 g
• Yellow onion — 1 large
• Garlic — 3 cloves
• Potato — 1 medium
• Beef broth — 200 ml
• Ground cinnamon — 1/2 tsp
• Ground cloves — 1/4 tsp
• Ground allspice — 1/4 tsp
• Dried sage — 1/2 tsp
• Salt — to taste
• Black pepper — to taste
Preparation:
1. Cut cold butter into 1×1 cm cubes. In a wide bowl, mix flour with salt, add butter and quickly rub with your hands into pea-sized crumbs. Pour in ice water in portions, mixing with a fork until it starts to come together. Divide dough into two parts (60% and 40%), form into disks, wrap in plastic and chill at least 1 hour. Dough should become firm and stop being sticky.
2. Peel onion and dice finely into 3-4 mm cubes. Mince garlic with a knife. Peel potato and grate on large holes. In a deep skillet over medium heat, sauté onion until translucent (4-5 minutes), then add garlic and cook another minute until fragrant.
3. Increase heat to medium-high, add both meats. Break up meat with a wooden spoon, cook 7-8 minutes until pink color completely disappears. Meat should be crumbly, without large clumps.
4. Add all spices (cinnamon, cloves, allspice, sage), salt and pepper. Stir, add grated potato and pour in broth. Simmer over medium heat 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until liquid almost completely evaporates. Filling should be thick and hold its shape on a spoon. Remove from heat and cool completely.
5. Preheat oven to 190°C. Roll out larger piece of dough into a 30 cm circle, 3-4 mm thick. Place dough in a 23-25 cm pie dish, pressing to bottom and sides. Trim edges, leaving 1 cm overhang. Distribute cooled filling evenly.
6. Roll out second piece of dough into a 26 cm circle. Cover pie, press edges and crimp with fingers or press with a fork around the circle. Trim excess dough. Make 4-5 knife slits in center for steam vents. Beat egg with 1 tbsp water and brush entire surface.
7. Bake 45-50 minutes until golden brown. Crust should be browned and shiny, and juice may seep slightly from slits. Let pie rest 10 minutes before slicing—this way filling will set and won't run out. Serve hot or warm, traditionally with ketchup or cranberry sauce.
💡 Fact: Tourtière has been made in Québec since the 17th century. The name comes from the word "tourte" (pie) or from the dish "tourtière" in which it was baked. Every family guards its secret recipe, passed down through generations.
🍟 Poutine
Hot french fries generously drenched in thick meat gravy and topped with squeaky cheese curds. Chaotic, filling, incredibly delicious—the quintessence of Canadian street food cult.
Ingredients:
For the fries:
• Large potatoes (Russet variety or other starchy) — 1 kg
• Vegetable oil for deep frying — 2 L
• Salt — to taste
For the gravy:
• Butter — 3 tbsp
• All-purpose flour — 3 tbsp
• Beef broth — 400 ml
• Chicken broth — 100 ml
• Worcestershire sauce — 1 tsp
• Ketchup — 1 tbsp
• Ground black pepper — to taste
• Salt — to taste
For assembly:
• Cheese curds or mozzarella — 300 g
Preparation:
1. Peel potatoes and cut into 1 cm thick sticks—they should be as uniform as possible for even cooking. Rinse in cold water 2-3 times, changing water until it runs clear (this removes excess starch). Drain in colander and thoroughly dry with a towel—every drop of water will cause oil splatter.
2. In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, heat oil to 160°C (use a cooking thermometer). Lower potatoes in batches, not overcrowding—sticks should float freely. Fry 5-6 minutes without browning. Potatoes will soften but remain pale. Transfer to paper towels, let cool 10 minutes.
3. While potatoes cool, make gravy. In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat, add flour and whisk actively 2-3 minutes until light beige and nutty aroma. This is roux—the base of the sauce, it will remove the flour taste.
4. Pour in both broths in a thin stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Bring to boil, reduce heat to minimum and cook 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Gravy should thicken to thin sour cream consistency and coat the spoon. Add Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and keep warm.
5. Cut cheese curds or mozzarella into 1.5-2 cm cubes. If using mozzarella, let it air-dry 10 minutes. Ideally cheese should be room temperature—it will melt better from hot gravy.
6. Increase oil temperature to 190°C. Fry potatoes again in batches for 3-4 minutes until deep golden color and crispy crust. Sticks should be rigid when tapped with a slotted spoon. Transfer to paper towels, salt immediately.
7. Work fast: pile hot fries on a wide plate or in a bowl, immediately distribute cheese pieces on top, then pour generously with hot gravy (don't hold back—gravy should run down the fries, penetrating inside). Cheese will start to slightly melt and 'squeak' on your teeth. Serve immediately—in 3-5 minutes the dish will lose its temperature and texture contrast.
💡 Fact: Poutine was invented in the late 1950s in Québec. Several versions of authorship exist, but all agree: a customer asked to mix fries, cheese and gravy, to which the cook exclaimed: "Ça va faire une maudite poutine!" ('It'll make a damn mess!'). The name stuck, and the dish became a national pride.