Traditional Quebequois Pâté Chinois is not a traditional pâté, as we know them in France. But rather, this is really a minced meat Shepherd’s Pie, usually made with ground beef or ground venison.
Shepard’s Pie is made with lamb in Scotland, cottage pie with beef in England, hachis parmentier in France and this similar dish called Pâté Chinois in the French parts of Canada, is a simple and delicious concoction, which is usually made of ground meat (hence the name pâté), corn and mashed potatoes. Minnesota has a similar version, simply called hot dish, and other Midwesterners may call it a mashed potato topped casserole. It doesn’t take much longer to throw together than a box of Hamburger Helper, if you use instant mash potatoes and canned corn. Our version takes only slightly longer, as you can boil the potatoes and grill the corn, as you brown the meat and vegetables—so it takes about 20 minutes to assemble, then an hour to bake.
We like the Pâté Chinois the best of all of these baked casserole dishes, because we don’t care for the peas in Shepard’s pie and we really like the addition of corn to the potatoes. In addition, the tomato base used here goes better with venison that other vegetables and spices in similar dishes.
We love to make it with the ground White-tailed deer venison that our daughter harvests each year, but we also had a similar hachis parmentier in France following a stag hunt, but it didn’t feature the corn, which isn’t as popular in France as it is here in North America.
Pâté Chinois was even featured on a recent episode of Diners Drive-Ins and Dives when Guy visits a gourmet pub in Quebec, so it is becoming more well known this side of the border as well, but it is traditional fare of many grandmothers throughout much of the French speaking areas of Canada. I have some found memories of it from a recipe my grandmother use to make, but sadly I don’t have the recipe. This is my best recollection of how my family assembled it, after trying a few other recipes online.
This is a simple farmer’s dish. Everyone has their own versions, as it is often assembled from what is on hand, but most versions feature ground beef, sautéed with the usual trinity of vegetables, some ketchup sauce, canned corn and topped with mashed potatoes, then baked liked Shepard’s pie.
We started with this version of the recipe, which is the best we have found, by Valerie Lugonja over at her great site on Canadian foods, by a real Canadian foodie: https://www.acanadianfoodie.com/2013/10/08/traditional-quebecois-pate-chinoistraditional-quebequois-pate-chinois/
She advises that the recipe is very controversial, as everyone has their own take on what makes it “traditional.” Mine is not traditional, it is an improved version, both easier to make and we think more tasty as well, but you be the judge. We like to use venison for the ground beef and reconstituted dried chantrelle mushrooms for the button mushrooms, among a few other tweaks such as grilling fresh corn before slicing it off the cob (and topping it with a little of the local Hatch green chile, since we are now here out West.
Ingredients and Instructions
Take 1/2 cup dried chantrelle or porcini mushrooms and reconstitute by soaking in 1 cup of hot water for about 20 minutes.
Take 1 pound ground venison and add to a hot pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil. When browned, add 1 clove garlic, minced to the pan and 1 shot of cognac for deglazing the pan. Remove from pan. Add another couple tablespoons olive oil and sauté a trinity of 1 cup each of onions, zucchini and red pepper, all roughly chopped. Once lightly browned, add mushrooms and reserved liquid. Cook over medium high until liquid evaporates. Season with french sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, adding a couple of tablespoons of herbs de Provence. When liquid has evaporated, remove from heat.
Meanwhile, grill 4 ears of corn, in the shuck over a very high heat grill, for about 3 minutes on each of the “4 sides”, turning a quarter turn each time. Remove from grill, shuck, and take a knife and shave the kernels off of the cob onto a cutting board. Add the cut corn kernels to the pot with the meat and vegetables, adding 1/2 cup of ketchup and 2 Tablespoons Amore concentrated tomato paste. We like a dash of Worcestershire sauce as well, then simmer a few minutes and stir to combine.
While you are doing the above or after, take three pounds of yellow Yukon gold potatoes, roughly chop (no need to peel) and place in a separate pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and place in Kitchen Aid blender with the dough attachment and beat for a few minutes until mashed, adding a 1/2 cup melted butter and a few dashes of cold milk. The skins will stick to the dough attachment and can be easily removed at this point.
Take a Le Creuset Cast-Iron Oval Baker, 1 1/2-Qt., (or can use a greased 13×9 baking dish. Layer the meat which has been combined with the vegetables and corn. Then top with the mashed potatoes, making it look like a Shepard’s pie. Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes. Top with a few pats of butter and 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese and return to oven for 5 minutes until melted and golden brown. Let sit 10 minutes before cutting and serving with another grind of fresh pepper and a dash of salt.
Top with diced Hatch green chile, if you wish to spice it up a little as it is otherwise a fairly bland dish, as neither the French nor the Quebecois are fond of spicy flavors.
