300g cooked gammon (preferably smoked), cut into 1.5cm pieces
500g cooked turkey, shredded into bitesize pieces
3 small trimmed leeks (about 300g), washed and cut into 2cm rounds
3 tbsp plain flour, plus extra for dusting
500ml fresh chicken stock
2 tbsp essential mustard
200ml tub crème fraîche
½ x 20g pack tarragon, leaves only, roughly chopped
200g cooked brussels sprouts, sliced
500g block puff pastry
1 medium egg, beaten
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO
Heat the butter in a large heavy-based casserole or saucepan. Add the gammon and 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, for about 4-6 minutes, until the mixture thickens.
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 1.5 litres in size). Leave to cool.
Preheat the oven to 220˚C, gas mark 7. Roll the pastry on a floured work surface so that it’s 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. Cut a couple of slits in the pastry sheet to let steam escape (or for a pie funnel) and lay on top of the pie. Crimp the edges, brush with more egg and decorate if you wish using the pastry trimmings. Bake for 5 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 200˚C, gas mark 6. Cook for a further 30-35 minutes, until golden and piping hot.
Though it's only spring, those brief few days of warmer weather have got us lighting the barbie with a kind of desperate hopefulness.
Because when the sun is shining and the garden...
