Gluten-Free Tourtière

I always enjoy tourtière over Christmas, but it’s not a good menu choice for those with gluten intolerance. Even if they don’t eat the pastry, there’s no guarantee that the filling is gluten free. So I put together my own recipe. The bottom crust is a bit more crumbly than I’d like—I may try adding an egg next time, in which case I’ll update the recipe.

Corn Flake Crust

4 cups gluten-free corn flakes, finely crushed

½ cup butter, melted

Combine and press into the bottom and sides of an 8-inch pie pan with a fork. Bake at 350°F for 10 minutes. Let cool.

Filling

½ pound lean ground beef

½ pound lean ground pork

½ cup apple sauce

¼ teaspoon ground cloves or allspice

black pepper to taste

Fry together beef and pork until light brown. Drain well (even “lean” ground meat is full of fat). Return to pan and add apple sauce and spices. Return to heat and continue to stir for another few minutes, until well-browned. Spoon filling into pie crust.

Upper Crust

3 cups mashed potatoes (made from instant is fine), thinned down with a little milk

Spoon the mashed potatoes over the meat. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.

Makes one 8-inch tourtière / 4 large or 6 medium servings

If you want to freeze this for later use, don’t add the mashed potatoes until you want to heat it for serving.