Tag Archives: pie

Perfect, imperfect Lemon Meringue Pie

Posted in Recipes, Sweet Treats by

What is your ‘death row’ dessert – this is mine, absolutely hands down. I just adore it’s melt in the mouth full on sweet, lemony deliciousness. The pastry in this recipe is part of the secret as it is really, really light and is the perfect host or backdrop for the lemon filling and the soft, sweet, crispy meringue topping.

Pastry is not one of my strong points – something always seems to go wrong and this was no different.

The pastry base bubbled up from the base of the tin when it was baking in the oven (not lined with enough baking beans to weigh it down) then it shrank and a little part of one side fell in completely. Then to top it off some of the filling leaked out of a little crack in the pastry when it was baking in the oven. Disaster!

Guess what ?? It tasted divine and all of the ‘disasters’ made no difference at all!

Sometimes things don’t go to plan however sometimes that’s ok

So go get yourself some lemons and some eggs and give this a shot to see if it is a contender for your favourite dessert.

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Turkey & Leek pie

Posted in Dinner, Uncategorized by

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!