Tourte - Petite Tarte in France

[bleudauvergne]

While in the Auvergne last week, I enjoyed a wonderful serving of tourte, in the old town of Clerment-Ferrand, a simply delicious little pie served for lunch. I think the place is called Le Chouette. I enjoyed it immensely 1) because it was clearly prepared with love, and 2) the crust was out of this world. I recognized the texture of the pate immediately, it was clear he was using duck fat. This one had a smoked magret de canard, onions, peppers, herbs of various kinds, among other things. It was pretty too.

The tourte also brought to mind a recipe in George Blanc's Cuisine en famille for his Petit tarte a l'ognion et aux herbes potagers that I prepare whenever I have fresh new onions, with spinach, sorrel, and creme fraiche.

Are there any special savory tourtes or tartes that you have had in France that you might want to mention in this thread? What are the local names? What's the difference between a tourte and a petite tarte? Can you comment on regional differences in the preparation of the pate?

[Adam Balic]

I'm afraid I don't know the local name (will try to find out), but while I was in the Dauphine I notice that the local butchers sold a version of pâté en croûte that I have not seen before. A relatively rustic pork terrine of about 1.5 inches thickness in a puff pasty shell of about 12 inches diameter, so quite flat. It was very good for "pique nique" eating.

Alsace-Lorraine come to mind when savoury tourtes are mentioned as well.

[menton1]

Here is a photo from our recent trip, albeit a sweet tarte, of figues decorated with those beautiful french berries called groseilles. Délicieuse!!

[bleudauvergne]

Yum it looks so delicious, where did you have it and what did they call it?

Basically when you make these tartes or tourtes, not sure what to call them, you can use just about anything that comes to your market basket. In this one, there was some nice sorrel, young leeks, young red onions, parsley and chevril.

Add some creme fraiche, and it's a casual lunch. This one didn't look so good but it tasted very good.

These kinds of tartes are really common in little tea house type places here in France, and served with salad. I'd love to hear more about what you've seen served and in what region, because it seems that everywhere I go in France I see them, but each place puts their own regional twist on them.

[Wolfert]

Lucy,

Your tourte looks divine.

When you get down to the French southwest, you will find that tourtes are double covered savory pies made with a dense and flavorful dough.

This tourtiere is from the Quercy and is used for savory tourtes.

[menton1]

Yum it looks so delicious, where did you have it and what did they call it?

It was a little place called Le Cabanon In Cap D'Ail on the coast; I think it was just a Tarte aux figues from the tableau noir; I have some photos of the place on my Trip report on another thread. It was a late-afternoon snack with coffee.

[bleudauvergne]

From what I understand tourtieres were at one time made from clay. Does anyone know of anywhere in France that still produces cermaic tourtieres?

Paula, it's a very pretty toutiere. Interesting to note that they cover them in the Southwest with a layer of pate. Do they cut air vents in the top? What's the common shape or the vent, if they do?

[Wolfert]

In the Quercy, a covered pie stuffed with chicken and salsify ragout is set in the copper tourtiere. After placing the pot or tourtiere in the fireplace, it is surrounded with embers, and the pie is left to bake. About ten minutes before the estimated

time of doneness, the upper lid is removed, a funnel is set into the upper crust and some reserved ragout juices are poured in. The pastry continues to "bake" in the fireplace without the cover.

Today, most cooks use ceramic or Pyrex and bake it in the oven with a pierced holes in the top layer of pastry.

.

Another tourtiere in the French Southwest is the apples wrapped in a strudel type dough confection called a croustade in Gascony, but when it is prepared in the Landais region of France, it's a tourtiere and it is baked in a ceramic round dish in

the oven. Photo by Irwin Horowitz published in Cuisine Magazine, 1980.

Another tourtiere in the Landes is a covered pie stuffed with wild leeks from the vineyard aka ramps and mushrooms. It, too, can be baked in ceramic.

The photo is from my new book and is by Christopher Hirsheimer.

Now here is a bit of shameless self promotion: all these recipes are in my French Southwest Book.

[bleudauvergne]

Today, most cooks use ceramic or Pyrex and bake it in the oven with a pierced holes in the top layer of pastry.

←

Out and about today I asked for a tourtiere in a kitchen boutique (I wouldn't call it kitchen supply because it was really a dish shop with a few accesories... ) and was shown this:

And this method of baking it with the lid on really makes a good deal of sense when dealing with the aspect of crust that overcooks at the top. So you can prepare a tourte, bake it in the oven until it's almost done, and then in the last 10 or 15 minutes you can remove the cover to get the top brown / or gratineed depending on if you covered it with pate or not. Now I wonder if this does away with the necessity to pre-bake the crust? With the ones I cook open in the oven, I always have to cover the edges with foil and it's bothersome. But with a lid...

And why is this one so deep?

[Kate Hill]

Late night wandering from Gascony and thought I'd drop in my two centimes worth. Tarte or tourte?

My French Kitchen 'godmother', Vetou Pompele, always makes her leek and mushroom tourte in a standard fluted tart pan. She tells me a tourte is savory and has an upper crust. When she makes one for serving between the soup and the next course, that upper crust is very very thin-- she will divide the pastry dough in thirds, using just one third for the top and 2/3 for the bottom. This recipe is the one I wrote in my cookbook 'A Culinary Journey in Gascony".

In this little area around Agen, a croustade is usually a flat apple or prune pastry made in a sheet pan served in cafes or village fetes and a tourtiere is a 'pastis', the fragile rosetted armagnac scented pastry. Few people make them at home and a few patisseries specialize in them. they are deservedly dear, often disappointing but when great- every tissue paper thin flake disappears!

I can't wait to get the new edition of Paula's book for my kitchen bibliothèque. the old one is dog-earred with years of browsing. Thanks Paula for updating and keeping this bible in print.

[pirate]

The one and only time I had a tourte of the kind initially described in this thread was when I stopped for lunch at Troisgros in 1970. Jean and Pierre were in the kitchen at that time. The tourte (labeled as such) consisted of layers of goodies which I can't recall with a shell and crust. A slice was served. It was superb but I've not come across it on other visits to Troigros nor have I found tourtes at other restaurants. I am reminded of the classic game pie dishes of Brillat-Savarin which I know only by the literature..For example the writings of Wechsberg on the travails of Alexandre Dumaine. I believe a tourte is one the Brillat-Savarin dishes. Perhaps someone could supply the correct information. The sucessful production of the three Brillat-Savarin dishes used to

demonstrate the mastery of a chef

[Kate Hill]

The one and only time I had a tourte of the kind initially described in this thread was when I stopped for lunch at Troisgros in 1970. Jean and Pierre were in the kitchen at that time. The tourte (labeled as such) consisted of layers of goodies which I can't recall with a shell and crust.

Pirate, I always describe making a tourte as making many layers-- a crisp bottom shell, simple fillings layered like pages in a book, the finest crust laid on top, an final egg wash... the experience should be as memorable as the 35 year old one you had! Now I am intrigued. thanks.