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Shepherd's pie, traditional recipe from Quebec
History and origins of shepherd's pie
In 1930, a press issue mentioned shepherd's pie and presented it as a dish that was already traditionally cooked. Its history before the years therefore remains a complete mystery. Nevertheless, two theories are retained, including:
The China Pie
According to this first theory, the expression "Chinese pie" comes from "China Pie". The latter represents a dish prepared in Maine when Quebec immigrants were there. They returned to Quebec taking this recipe with them. They called it “Chinese pie”.
We prepare the China Pie with lamb meat. Later, it is replaced by beef, but this version was devoid of corn. The cooks just used vegetables from the market. The inhabitants of the British Isles landed in North America to add corn to the preparation.
Chinese workers
According to this common assumption, this dish consists of an adaptation of shepherd's pie. The cooks of the Canadian railroad would have proposed it in the 19th century.
Instead of gravy, these kitchen professionals used corn.
None of these theories have been verified.
A traditional preparation from Quebec
Each layer of shepherd's pie is cooked separately. All you have to do is layer them on a baking dish. You can gratinate everything at the last minute.
To succeed in this tasty preparation, you need various ingredients and you must follow certain steps.
Ingredients
For 4 servings of Quebec shepherd's pie, you will need:
- - 500g ground beef
- - 400g mashed potatoes
- - 250g creamed/frozen/canned corn
- - ¼ teaspoon savory thyme
- - Two chopped onions
- - 2 tablespoons of butter
- - salt and pepper
Preparation
- Heat your oven to 190°C to brown the chopped onions in the melted butter.
- Season with various spices including salt, thyme and pepper.
- Also add your minced meat and cook for 10 minutes.
- Pour this mixture into a casserole dish.
- Place the corn on top of the meat and cover everything with mashed potatoes.
- Place your knobs of butter on it and let brown in the oven for ten minutes.
Choosing the right corn to perfect your Canadian shepherd's pie recipe
Corn makes up the third layer of the Quebec shepherd's pie recipe. It gives this identity and originality to the dish. To enhance the recipe, we recommend creamed corn combined with a creamy texture. It binds potato and meat.
If you love crunchy textures, opt for canned corn. As for frozen corn, it gives a nice crispy appearance to Canadian shepherd's pie.
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