This recipe for Salmon Tourtiere is a nutrient-dense take on a traditional recipe. Tourtiere is a French Canadian meat pie dish. There are regional recipes (and much debate over which versions are the most authentic), but they are generally made with a mince of pork or veal with potatoes, mirepoix and simple seasonings like bay leaves, rosemary, thyme, and savory.
So, what’s the deal with salmon? While tourtieres tend to be made with pork or veal, salmon is also a great option. And with a Nutrivore Score of 868 (compared to 186 for pork and 230 for veal) salmon also ups the nutrient punch of this meat pie recipe. Salmon is a concentrated source of many nutrients including EPA+DHA, B vitamins, selenium, vitamin D, protein, copper, choline, iodine, and ALA plus many more!
While you can certainly use hot-smoked; freshly steamed, baked or poached; or leftover salmon or trout for this dish, it’s actually most commonly a way to spruce up some canned salmon! I love the idea of turning inexpensive, nutrient-dense (bones and all!) canned salmon into a warm, comforting and delicious meal. And, move over tuna casserole, this Salmon Tourtiere is packed with nutrition and the whole family will love it! Make it as a meat pie (double crust) or as a pot pie (as shown).
Salmon Tourtiere
Ingredients
- 1 batch Gluten Free Pie Crust
- 3 large green plantains or sub potatoes
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil or any cooking fat you like
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon savory
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 15 oz cans salmon or 1.5 to 2 pounds cooked fresh or smoked salmon or trout
Instructions
- Prepare pie crust. Keep dough in the fridge until you’re ready to roll it out.
- Peel plantains and cut into 1″ chunks. Bring broth to a rolling simmer in a medium saucepot over medium-high heat. Add plantain and simmer, uncovered, until plantain is soft, about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium heat in a small frying pan. Add onion and cook, stirring relatively frequently, until browned, about 8 minutes.
- Remove plantains from heat and drain and reserve the liquid. Mash by hand with a sturdy fork or potato masher, adding back in broth until you have a thick mashed potato texture.
- Add salt to plantains. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Add savory and minced garlic.
- Drain both cans of salmon. With a fork, incorporate into the plantain mixture. You want to have chunks of salmon and plantain and not make it too smooth in texture.
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Prepare your dish. If making a meat pie, use a 9" deep dish pie plate. If making a pot pie, an 8" or 9" casserole dish works well. Roll out pie crust. If making a meat pie, lay a bottom layer in the bottom of pie plate.
- Add salmon mixture to your dish, spreading out to evenly fill the dish. Gently layer pie crust over the top. Go ahead and get fancy with some crimped edges and using any extra pie crust to make fun shapes to layer on the top. Also, make sure to cut a couple of slits into the crust for venting.
- Bake for 45 minutes, until crust is starting to brown. Remove from oven and serve!
