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Pâté Chinois (Quebec Style Shepherd’s Pie)

pate chinois

This is the most traditional dish that every household eats in Quebec. As a kid, you would eat Pâté Chinois at least once a week, either at home or at the school’s cafeteria,. It is very similar to a Shepherd’s Pie, as it is divided in 3 layers of ingredients: meat, legumes and mashed potatoes. The literal translation of the name is something like chinese pie. You can search for the origin of the name on the internet, I’m not an history teacher.

Ingredients

Mashed potatoes layer

Beef layer

Corn layer

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
  2. In a large pot of salted water, cook the potatoes for 20-30min or until tender. Drain.
  3. Add the butter, the milk, the herbs, the nutmeg and mash the potatoes with a masher or an electric mixer. Gradually add the cheese. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
  4. In a pan at medium-high heat, brown the onion in the butter and cook the beef until golden brown. Add the herbs, the Worcestershire and the soya sauce and cook it for another 2min. Set aside.
  5. In a 6-8 inch baking dish, press the meat into the bottom. Evenly cover with the whole kernel corn, the cream corn and finish with the layer of mashed potatoes.
  6. Sprinkle some paprika to taste.
  7. Bake it in the oven for 20-30min.
  8. (Optional) Finish the cooking under the broiler for no more than 2min.
  9. Serve with ketchup on top and with marinated beets on the side.

Note