Ideal for your making the most of your Christmas Dinner leftovers.
The term ‘leftovers’ traditionally seems to bring with it a sigh and a moan. ‘Why must the turkey be so big?’, ‘what will we do with all of this?’, ‘so glad it’s a whole year before we have to do all of this again’…..
But a turkey pie certainly puts leftover meat to good use, and when done right, it’s the highlight of the festive season. This Christmas, everything is getting downsized a little, so why not make smaller pies for the freezer or give to others to take home?
Any unbaked mini pies can be put in the freezer for up to 1 month, then cooked from frozen – adjust the cooking times as needed, cover with foil during baking if they become too brown and cook until piping hot throughout. If you have some Christmas gammon or bacon to use up, throw that in the pie, too, for some extra flavour.
Preparation time:30 minutes + cooling
Cooking time:50 minutes
Total time:80 minutes + cooling
Serves: 8
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
- 25g unsalted butter
- 800g cooked turkey, shredded into bitesized pieces
- 2 small trimmed leeks, washed and cut into 2cm rounds
- 3 tbsp plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 500ml fresh chicken stock
- 2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- 200ml tub crème fraîche
- ½ x 20g pack tarragon, leaves only, roughly chopped
- 200g cooked Brussels sprouts, sliced
- 500g pack Jus-Rol Puff Pastry
- 1 British Blacktail Medium Free Range Egg, beaten
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO
1. Heat the butter in a large heavy-based casserole or saucepan. Add the turkey, cooking over a medium heat for 5-6 minutes, until evenly browned. Add the leeks, cover and cook for 3 minutes. Uncover, stir in the flour and cook for about 1 minute. Pour in the stock and bring to a brisk simmer, stirring and scraping the base of the pan throughout, for 4-6 minutes, until the mixture thickens.
2. Set aside to cool for 30 minutes before stirring in the mustard and crème fraîche. Mix in the tarragon and sprouts and transfer to a large pie dish, at least 1.5L in size (to make smaller pies see our tip, below). Leave to cool.
3. Preheat the oven to 220ºC, gas mark 7. Roll out the pastry on a floured work surface until large enough to cover the pie dish with plenty overhanging. Cut 1.5cm strips from the outside of the pastry. Brush the rim of your dish with egg, place the strips on top and brush these with more egg.
4. Lay the pastry sheet on top of the pie and make a couple of cuts in the centre to let steam escape. Crimp the edges, brush with more egg and decorate, if liked, using the pastry trimmings. Bake for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 200ºC, gas mark 6. Cook for a further 30-35 minutes, until golden and piping hot.
This recipe was bought to you with the help from our pals at Waitrose.