When I was growing up on the Prairies, suppertime was a mad dash for my mom. Once home from work, she had to somehow whip up a meal for my three brothers and me, not to mention her husband.
Understandably, most nights she kept things simple, with such things as Shake鈥檔 Bake chicken and roasted sausages, along with some simple side dishes.
Once in a while, though, she would get a little more gourmet. At least, that鈥檚 what I thought when she told me she was making p芒t茅 Chinois for dinner that night.
It was a dish my French 91原创 mom ate听when she was growing up, and because it听had such an exotic-sounding name, I thought it had to be something extra special.
But my mom鈥檚 p芒t茅 Chinois did not contain p芒t茅 or exotic Asian ingredients. As I scarfed it down, it never dawned on me to ask her why it was called p芒t茅 Chinois. All I knew is that I loved it and couldn鈥檛 wait to eat the leftovers.
It wasn鈥檛 until I was a chef that I became more interested in the foods of my youth. When researching p芒t茅 Chinois, I learned it was not gourmet, but it was comfort food, which is why I liked it then and still do听now.
According to Bill Casselman鈥檚 91原创 Food Words, the Quebec dish p芒t茅 Chinois, Chinese pie in English, is basically shepherd鈥檚 pie.
Why would Quebecers call it that?
It all begins to make sense when you read Julian Armstrong鈥檚 book A Taste of听Quebec. She writes that Quebec food historian Claude Poirer traced the name to a town in the state of Maine called China. Armstrong says that in the late 19th century, thousands of Quebecers migrated to the northeastern United States to work in mills. Those who settled in the town of China eventually returned to Quebec with a recipe for the shepherd鈥檚 pie they enjoyed there and named after that town, calling it p芒t茅 Chinois, Chinese pie.
In this version of shepherd鈥檚 pie, a ground-meat mixture is topped with canned creamed corn and mashed potatoes, and then baked.
My mom did a splendid job of making each layer stand out and made the potatoes so fluffy, not to mention buttery, they were a dream. Although I鈥檝e not seen this in other recipes, she would also add a bit of flour to the meat to听help it hold together when sliced.
I鈥檝e done that in my recipe and, with local corn still in season, decided to make my own creamed corn. If that part of the recipe sounds like too much work, you could, of course, replace it with a can of creamed corn.
My mom always served p芒t茅 Chinois with ketchup, to drizzle on top or alongside. I had a mound of locally grown cherry tomatoes at home, so I听decided to make my own ketchup. Doing that, along with making my own creamed corn and using three types of ground meat in my p芒t茅 Chinois, did make it a little more gourmet, but still very comforting.
P芒t茅 Chinois
This comforting French 91原创-style casserole tops a ground meat mixture with layers of creamed corn and mashed potatoes. It makes a nice supper when served with a salad and homemade ketchup as a condiment. If you鈥檙e just feeding two, you鈥檒l also have leftovers you can听enjoy the next day, or freeze and reheat.
Preparation: 45 minutes
Cooking time: About 65 minutes
Makes: eight servings
听
For the meat
1 1/2 Tbsp butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 lb. lean ground beef (see Note)
1/2 lb. ground pork
1/2 lb. ground veal
1 large garlic clove, minced
鈥� a few pinches dried thyme
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
鈥� salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the creamed corn
2 fresh cobs of corn
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup whipping cream
1 Tbsp butter
鈥� salt and white pepper to taste
For the potatoes
2 3/4 lbs. yellow-fleshed or russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1/2 cup milk, warmed (see Note)
1/4 cup butter, melted
鈥� salt and white pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp chopped parsley or 2 thinly sliced green onions
Melt the 1 1/2 Tbsp butter in a large skillet set over medium to medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook and stir until tender, about five minutes. Add the ground meats and cook and stir until they are cooked and are crumbly.
Drain away excess fat/liquid from the skillet, mix in the garlic, thyme and flour, and cook and stir three minutes more.
Spoon and pack the meat mixture into the bottom of a deep, eight-inch square baking dish.
To make the creamed corn, with a sharp paring knife, cut the kernels off each cob and into a bowl. Using your fingers, separate the corn into individual kernels.
Using the back blade of a knife, scrape the corn cobs and press out any milky liquid in them into the bowl the kernels are in.
Place the corn kernels and liquid in the bowl in a large skillet with the 1脷3 cup water, whipping cream and 1 Tbsp butter. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat and cook until the kernels are tender and a lightly thickened creamy sauce forms around them, about 12 to 15 minutes.
Spoon and spread the creamed corn on top of the meat in the baking dish.
To make the potatoes, place them in a pot, cover with cold water by at least two inches and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat until the potatoes simmer gently. Simmer potatoes until very tender, about 18 to 20 minutes.
While the potatoes simmer, preheat the oven to 375 F.
When cooked, drain the potatoes well and then mash thoroughly. Mix in the milk and melted butter until well combined and season with salt and pepper. Spread the potatoes over the corn听in the baking dish (they will听rise over the top of the pan). Swirl the top of the potatoes to give them a decorative look when baked.
Bake the p芒t茅 Chinois in the middle oven 25听to 30 minutes, until hot and the meat and听corn fillings are bubbling. Turn the oven to the broiler setting and cook the top of the p芒t茅 Chinois until richly coloured. (Keep an eye on it while broiling, so it does not burn on听top.)
Let p芒t茅 Chinois rest 10 minutes before sprinkling with parsley or green onion, slicing and serving.
Note: If you can鈥檛 find or don鈥檛 want to use ground pork or veal, make the meat filling with 11脷2 lbs of lean ground beef. You can warm the milk and melt the butter听for the potatoes by zapping them听in the microwave a听few seconds.
Cherry Tomato Ketchup
This robust, sweet, tangy, nicely spiced ketchup is rich with the concentrated flavour of ripe, red, locally grown cherry tomatoes. It鈥檚 also fairly easy to make. Throw all ingredients in a pot, simmer, pur茅e, simmer again, cool and then enjoy with p芒t茅 chinois or any other dish you like ketchup with.
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: About 50 to 60 minutes
Makes: about 1 cup
听
1 lb ripe red cherry tomatoes, each halved (about 3 cups)
2/3 cup beef stock
2 Tbsp golden brown sugar
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp ground all-spice
1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper
听
Put all ingredients in a tall, six-inch-or-so-wide pot and bring to a very gentle simmer over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to maintain that gentle simmer (small bubbles should just break on the surface).
Simmer the tomatoes, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes, or until very tender and falling apart.
Pur茅e the mixture in the pot with an immersion (hand) blender, or transfer to a food processor or blender and pur茅e it there. Return the cherry-tomato mixture, which will still be fairly fluid, to a gentle simmer.
Simmer the mixture, uncovered, 20 to 30 minutes, or until it becomes thick like ketchup. When the mixture does start to thicken, stir it more frequently to ensure it doesn鈥檛 scorch on the bottom.
When ready, transfer ketchup to a heatproof glass jar and cool to room temperature. Seal the jar, refrigerate and chill the ketchup a few hours before using. Ketchup will keep in the refrigerator at least two weeks.
Eric Akis is the author of eight cookbooks. His latest is The Great Rotisserie Chicken Cookbook (Appetite by Random House). His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
