Recipe for Tourte de la Vallée de Munster (Alsatian meat pie)

What is Munster Valley pie?

Tourte de la Vallée de Munster does not contain Munster cheese, contrary to what you might think with such a name. The pie is made with a meat filling, shortcrust pastry for the base and homemade puff pastry for the lid. Delicious with salads or raw vegetables.

Tourte de la Vallée is so named because it’s part of the marcaire meal served in restaurants and farm inns (de la marcairerie or ferme haute vosgienne) in the farm inns of the Vosges mountains, of which the Munster valley is a part.

If you’re looking for a “real” Marcaire meal, go for a walk a few kilometers before you sit down to eat! It’s made up of this magnificent pie, followed by a second course of smoked palette, served with roïgabrageldi (a mixture of melting potatoes, bacon, onions, butter and white wine), then munster cheese and for dessert, if it’s in season, blueberry tart. Yes, it’s far from light! 😉

Our recipe

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Munster Valley pie

Traditional Vosges meat pie recipe

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Total Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Cuisine: Alsacienne

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 puff pastry disk
• 1 shortcrust pastry disc
• 1 kg ground pork collar
• 2 eggs
• 1 milk roll
• 1 glass of milk
• 1 onion
• 70 g of butter
• 1 garlic clove
• Salt pepper
• Nutmeg

Instructions

• Soak the rolls in milk, ideally ½ hour in advance, to soften them. This is an opportunity to use a day-old roll, which might be a little dry.
• Slice the onion and garlic and sauté in a little butter. Lightly fry the onions until they lose some of their water and take on their flavor. Mix them with the minced meat, 1 whole egg and the bread roll crushed with a fork. Season with salt and pepper, add a little nutmeg and mix well.
• Line the bottom of a pie dish (or a springform pan) with a sheet of shortcrust pastry, making sure it rises up (and overflows the dish).
• Fill this pastry case with stuffing. Raise the pastry all around, then cover with a second layer, this time of puff pastry, pressing the edges firmly together.
• Brush the lid with egg yolk, then make a small evaporation hole in the center.
• Bake at 200°C for about 1 hour. The pie should be golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to rest.

Notes

To accompany this dish, think of Alsace wines (in moderation, of course!). Gewurztraminer or Pinot Blanc for white wine, light Pinot Noir for red wine.