Savoury Turkey Veronique is a twist on the classic French meat pie. Something a little different for the weeknight dinner.
Ground turkey, grapes and a white wine cream sauce, under a rustic lattice crust.
Do you ever get in the dinner rut? Preparing the same old standby week in and week out. You want to make something different, but time always gets in the way. Sometimes a “special occasion” falls in the middle of the week, what can you make that is easy and different?
Taste the wonders of the world, right from your kitchen. If you can’t travel to other parts of the world, you can still make country inspired dishes at home.
Do you have a favourite cuisine? Italian, Mexican, Asian? French cuisine seems to intrigue the palette of cooks everywhere.
Here in Canada, tourtiere is FAMOUS, especially during the holidays. This classic French Canadian meat pie was introduced to me by my husband (who was born in Montreal).
I like to twist and spin some ingredients (just to see what happens). I turned this meat-heavy pie into a MEATLESS version. YES! It’s not that I don’t LOVE the original version, but I wanted to lighten up the calorie-dense recipe.
Red Lentil Meatless Mock Tourtiere is one of my most popular recipes. In fact, one of my readers from Quebec messaged to let me know she served it during the Christmas holidays and it was a HIT.
This is what she said:
I’m a vegetarian from Montréal, Québec, and I used your recipe for tourtière as part of our New Year’s Eve “Réveillon”. (ask your husband) spread. Tourtière is a traditional dish here, so it’s a tough crowd to please but everyone loved it, including non-vegetarians, and it was so easy to make.
WOW, that is quite the accomplishment coming from the tourtiere aficionados. Who would have thought a meatless version would be such a warm welcome.
WHAT IS VERONIQUE?
Veronique sounds so fancy, yet it really is the French version of a pot pie.
This French meat pie is a dish made with fish or more often chicken. Grapes and a white wine cream sauce are the traditional French ingredients. You can make this without the alcohol if you wish.
A fancy pot pie seems like the perfect midweek winner dinner. Believe me, this is a super easy meat pie recipe.
A long time ago, my first collection of cookbooks started with the Company’s Coming series by Jean Paré. These books sparked my interest in cooking. Right from the very first book, I realized that cooking didn’t have to be fancy to taste good.
People seem to think that French cooking is complicated. Are you one of those people?
Cooking Channel shares some French pantry essentials:
French cuisine is justly esteemed for its sauces, and brandy and wine form the foundation of many of them. Even if you don’t want to spend a lot of energy on saucing, a few tablespoons of a quick pan sauce can make the difference between something ho-hum, and something really special: Sauté a piece of meat, chicken or fish, and remove it from the pan; deglaze with a little wine or brandy to pick up the flavourful browned bits that cling to the bottom of the pan. Add a touch of cream, or a bit of butter, to thicken and enrich the juices, and you’ve got something that tastes like you spent all day on it.
TURKEY VERONIQUE INGREDIENTS
Jean’s original recipe was Chicken Veronique. Since we love cooking with turkey, my version subbed in ground turkey for chicken. Turkey veronique is certainly a delicious twist.
We eat turkey all year long in our house. It is so easy to replace other meats with this healthy, tasty protein.
Jerk Turkey Meatball Subs make a great weeknight dinner. You can even use the turkey meatballs as an appetizer if you like.
This homemade pot pie uses simple ingredients. You will need:
- ground turkey
- onion
- *Provencal Herb seasoning (the classic French seasoning)
- salt and pepper
- white wine (you can omit this if you like)
- evaporated milk
- flour
- mayonnaise
- seedless green grapes
All you have to do is cook the ingredients in a pan, and place in a casserole dish. You can use whatever shape you like. I LOVE my *oval bakers from Le Creuset. This recipe fits perfectly in the 1.4 litre dish.
FANCY LATTICE TOP
Somehow anything under pastry turns out so yummy. Don’t be scared of this super easy shortcrust pastry. I was always scared to make pastry until I started making shortcrust. Super easy to make, and easy to work with too.
RECIPE TIP Be sure to make the pastry FIRST. Wrap in plastic and set aside until ready to roll. Letting the pastry rest makes it easier to handle. I just leave it on the counter while I make the meat pie filling.
When rolling the pastry out, I LOVE using my *silicone mat. It makes it so much easier to pick up the pastry off the counter.
For cutting these long strips, a *pizza cutter is fantastic. You can use a very sharp knife if you like.
Latticing creates a basket weave appearance. The openings allow the steam to escape while the turkey veronique bakes. The perfect topping on this easy to make french meat pie.
HOW TO LATTICE:
It really is easy!!
- Roll the dough so the strips are long enough to cover your casserole dish. I like my crust on the thicker side since it is only on the top of the pie.
- Cut into 1-inch strips.
- Pick the strips up and lay them vertically and evenly on the top of your meat pie filling. Leave enough room to allow for the steam to escape.
- Fold alternate strips (every other strip) backwards to almost the end of the casserole dish.
- Pick up another strip off the counter, and place ACROSS (in the opposite direction) over the strips that are left on the pie.
- Now unfold the strips over the entire casserole. (These are the strips you have folded backward).
- Next, you will FOLD BACK the opposite stips you did the first time around. You will only fold back until the strip you just put across the dish.
- Continue these folding/crossing strips until the entire pie is covered.
- Fold in the dough along the edges of the casserole dish.
Need a visual? Check out this post from Sallys’ Baking Addiction.
There you have it. Savoury Turkey Veronique Rustic Meat Pie.
The flavours of France in an uncomplicated and budget-friendly dinner. Perfect for leftovers too. Fancy enough for dinner parties.
Do YOU have a favourite meat pie recipe?
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If you love cooking with ground turkey, here are a few simple turkey recipes from my blogger friends.
- Southwestern Turkey Meatloaf
- Skinny Enchilada Turkey Soup
- Turkey Stuffed Peppers
- Baked Turkey Meatballs
Savoury Turkey Veronique Rustic Meat Pie
Ingredients
For the Pot Pie:
- 1 pound of ground turkey
- 1/4 cup small onion (diced)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 tsp Provencal Herb seasoning
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup seedless green grapes (cut in 1/2)
For the Pastry Topping:
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 butter (melted)
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 tbsp egg (beaten with 1 . of water)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425º F.
- Grease a dish (round, square or rectangular) and set aside.
- In a measuring cup combine the evaporated milk and flour till smooth.
- Add the salt, pepper and Provencal Herb seasoning, combine and set aside.
To make the Pot Pie:
- In a skillet heat oil over med-high heat.
- Sauté the turkey until no longer pink (about 5 minutes).
- Add the diced onion and sauté for another 5 minutes.
- Add the wine and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add the flour/milk mixture and cook for 1-2 minutes until thickened.
- Remove from heat and stir in grapes and mayonnaise.
- Place meat mixture into prepared casserole dish and set aside.
To make the Pastry Topping: (Make first, and wrap until ready to use)
- Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
- Add milk and butter, and combine to form a ball.
- Wrap in plastic and rest until ready to roll.
Rolling the Pastry:
- On a floured surface, knead dough several times.I like to use a silicone mat to roll on.
- Using a rolling pin, roll to about 1/4 inch thickness (or thinner if you prefer)
- Using a knife (or pizza cutter) cut the dough into 1/2 wide strips.
- Place strips on top of casserole forming a lattice (directions in the post)or just crisscross the strips if that is easier.
- Beat the egg and water, and brush the top of the pastry.
- Bake for approximately 23-25 minutes.
- Pastry should be browned, and meat mixture should be bubbling.
- ENJOY!!
Trish Bozeman
The turkey. The grapes. The cream sauce. So perfect for a slightly lighter dish for the holidays. Delicious.
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
It is so easy, you can make it any night of the week. Hope you give it a try soon.
Donna
Well this is definitely something new for me but it went down a treat!! LOve the hint of sweetness from the grapes, such a great pairing.
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
That was exactly the way I felt the first time I had the grape/chicken combination. So glad I tried it.
Dana
I grew up on meat pies (tortieres) with ground beef thanks to my French Canadian mother! Though I’ve never had this sort and this is so much more up my alley since ground beef certainly isn’t my favorite thing. I can’t wait to give this a whirl!
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
Well I think you will enjoy this for sure.
Jenni LeBaron
Much of my family is from Canada, so I always love learning about French Canadian cuisine. This savoury Turkey Veronique sounds lovely and you’re right, sometimes a regular wednesday is worthy of special occasion dinners. I can’t wait to try this classic dish!
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
We do have some unique dishes for sure. Hope you give this fancy for super easy meat pie a try for dinner.
Melissa
Yum! We have definitely been in a dinner rut and have been looking for new fall recipes! I do ground turkey pretty regularly, so I love that this is made with it. Love the lattice top!
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
This is such an easy recipe to make. Love when fancy really isn’t fancy to make.
Marisa F. Stewart
Well my mouth is watering just reading about the recipe — this is a dish I have to make ASAP!! The idea of the grapes with the turkey is genius! And your lattice on top turned out fantastic. I could see this as a luncheon dish with some white wine and a salad. YUMMY!! Can’t wait to make it.
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
It would make the perfect little lunch celebration for sure. Hope you give it a try soon.
Denise
This looks delicious. I bet the grapes add an amazing taste and texture, and your crust looks so buttery!
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
Some people think this is a weird combination. I did the first time I tried it. It works!! Hope you give it a try.
Veena Azmanov
I love everything to making this Pie. So perfect and so creamy and delicious.
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
This looks fancy, but super easy to make. Hope you give it a try.
Jolina
So interesting! And so sad that I haven’t tasted tourtiere or veronique. The shame, right?? This is definitely right up our alley, we find ourselves in a whats-for-dinner rut a lot!!
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
Well give tourtiere a try during the holidays…it is unique for sure. This French meat pie is super easy to make and totally delicious.
Caroline
What an interesting-looking pie with the evaporated milk in there, as well as the grapes, though I’m sure the grapes in particular must help add a nice burst of flavor and juiciness.
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
It is a very French thing…the green grapes. You really need to give it a try to see just how delicious it is.
Traci
This is my idea of the perfect comfort food. The recipe is easy enough and the outcome…gorgeous! Thanks for sharing this! 🙂
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
You gotta love when some that looks fancy is super easy…not to mention delicious. ENJOY!
Dannii
I love pie, but I never make them. I really need to as this looks nice and easy.
Gloria | Homemade & Yummy
This really is a super easy and delicious meat pie. French cooking is not complicated…ENJOY!