This pie is a must-have at Christmas in our house. Over the years we have a tradition whereby after our Christmas dinner the next day we have Christmas dinner No. 2 with a fresh batch of roast potatoes and vegetables, then we have Christmas dinner No.3 which is this Turkey Pie. It is a great way to use up the leftover meat. The recipe is a great basic pie recipe as it can be used anytime with any combination of fresh or leftover meat and / or vegetables.

Serves 4-6

30 minutes prep & 45 minutes in the oven

Ingredients

50g butter plus extra for greasing
1 onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1-2 leeks, trimmed & sliced
250g button mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon plain flour
250ml chicken stock
100ml single cream
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
900g cooked turkey meat (or mixture of ham, turkey or chicken)
200/225g ready rolled puff pastry
1 egg lightly beaten
Salt & freshly ground black pepper

How to make it!

• Preheat oven to 190°C/375° F/Gas 5
• Heat the butter in a sauté pan
• Add the onion, garlic, leeks and mushrooms and sauté for 2-3 minutes until softened but not coloured
• Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously
• Gradually pour the stock into the pan followed by the cream, stirring until smooth after each addition
• Add the bay leaf, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally
• Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper.
• Place the cooked turkey / meat in a 1.75L (3 pint) pie dish and ladle over the sauce
• Stir gently to combine.
• Roll out the pastry to a thickness of 0.5cm/¼cm on a lightly floured surface to fit the top of the pie dish making sure that it is large enough to hang over the edges like a ‘blanket’.
• Place the pastry lid on top of the pie, trimming it down to fit and brush around the edges with a little water to help it stick, then press down along the sides to seal.
• Cut a small slit in the pastry lid to allow the steam to escape
• Cut out a few decorative pastry leaves to put in the centre of the pastry lid.(optional)
• Brush with the beaten egg and bake for 45 minutes or until the pastry is nicely puffed up and golden brown.

Serve with some creamy mashed potato and enjoy!