Who doesn’t love a pie?! This is a yummy post-Christmas or Thanksgiving leftover recipe. If you don’t want to make the pastry, just keep some frozen tucked away in the freezer. It will work just as well.
Have it with some new potatoes or chips.
400g leftover cooked turkey (or a combo of turkey and ham)
100g frozen peas
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 sticks celery, trimmed and chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
100g cooked chestnuts, crumbled roughly
200g (or whatever you have left over!) stuffing, crumbled
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 pint stock plus jelly scrapings and any leftover gravy
1 teaspoon flour
2 teaspoon butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the pastry
250g plain flour
125g unsalted butter
good pinch salt
small glass of iced water
1. First, make your pastry: put the measured flour into a mixing bowl. Then get your butter. Make sure it is straight from the fridge — as cold as possible. Cut it into small pieces straight into the flour. Add a large pinch of salt. Then with your finger-tips, rub the butter into the flour, lifting your hands as you go to aerate it, until it resembles a bowl of bread-crumbs. The secret here is to handle it as little as possible, and to keep it as cool as possible. Add your iced water, a teaspoon at a time, moving the crumbs around until it becomes a pastry. Note that you do not want to add too much water — if you do, you will end up with a tough pastry. Once it has come together, wrap it gently in some cling or greaseproof, and put it in the fridge for half an hour.
2. Pre heat the oven to 200˚C, or gas mark 6.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Add the onion, celery and carrots and sauté until softened. Add the crumbled chestnuts, stuffing, thyme, peas, and turkey and mix thoroughly. Now scoop out the mixture and place it into a pie tin.
4. In the pan add the butter, melt and then add the flour, cooking it through until combined. Pour in the gravy / stock / jelly bits and bring to the boil, scraping and whisking until thickened. Pour over the turkey mixture.
5. Now you can either leave it to cool to cook later or go straight to the main event.
6. Roll out your pastry so that it will cover your pot. Brush the rim of your pot with beaten egg, and then place your pastry over it. Pinch the pastry to the rim, to seal. Brush the pastry with more beaten egg. Cut a couple of holes in the top for the steam, and then bake in the oven for about 35 minutes — until it is yummy and golden brown on the top.
7. Serve.
