Guest Post by Julia Frey
Turkey and Leek Pie
Turkey leftovers will never be the same…
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 30 gr. butter
- 800-1000 gr. leftover turkey meat
- 50 gr. italian pancetta or bacon
- 3 leeks (white part only)
- 3 medium carrots
- 1 cup/250 ml. leftover gravy
- 1 tbsp. flour
- 2 sprigs of each rosemary and thyme
- Salt and pepper to taste
- prepared shortcrust pie pastry (Pillsbury in Canada or Jus Rol in the UK)
- 1 egg (optional)
Preheat oven to 375 F/190 C or 180 C for a fan oven.
My dear friends, you were probably expecting some amazing pie crust recipe that was handed over to me by my mother, and to her by her mother and so on but instead I am advising you to use a prepared one. I hope you are not too disappointed but the truth is that when I have a container full of turkey leftovers in the refrigerator that scream-”Use me, I am literally on my last breath”, the furthest thought from my mind is to run to the kitchen and engage in a long and tedious process of pastry making. Trust me, the flavour comes from the filling, not from the crust. There is definitely time for making your own special recipe but not a week after Christmas! So where were we? Yes, oven.
In a deep frying pan heat a tablespoon of olive oil and your butter over a medium heat, cook your pancetta with the herbs for about 7-10 min and than add your sliced leek and diced carrots. You can definitely use bacon instead of pancetta if it’s too hard to find or pricey. It’s readily available in England and for a good price, so I prefer it.
After your vegetable have been cooking for 10 min and leeks softened add your diced turkey and gravy. If you don’t have enough gravy use chicken stock and thicken it with flour. Cook the mixture for about 10 min until heated through and not too runny. Add more flour if it is! Taste it and season with salt and pepper.
I really recommend using your leftover gravy because this is where your taste is going to come from. You already spend lots of time building flavour and complexity into it while cooking your holiday dinner-it’s time to reap the benefits. Take your filling off the heat and cool it before pouring it into the pastry. While it’s cooling roll out your pastry or take a little break with a glass of wine!
Line the 9″ deep pie plate with the pastry. When the meat is cooled enough to handle pour into your lined pie plate with the edges hanging over the sides of the plate. Brush the edges of the pastry with a beaten egg. I used to skip that step and my beautiful pies would come undone in the oven. I like my food to look pretty, so it would frustrate me to no end. The egg is your glue here. Don’t skip this step. I beg you. Pinch your sides of the pie really well and brush the top with the rest of your egg.
Also, don’t forget to make pretty slits on your pie to make room for the steam to escape or your pie will explode. Maybe. As I mentioned earlier, I like my food to look pretty.
For the pie you see in the picture I used my turkey cookie cutter on the leftover pastry and cut out a couple of turkeys. Then I appliquéd them on the pie and brushed the whole deal with the egg again. You know how I begged you not to skip an earlier step? Feel free to skip this one. It’s for food nerds only. Skipping of the last step bares no consequences on the deliciousness of that pie.
Bake your pie for 35 min and serve with whatever you like. In my case it was mashed potatoes and green beans.
PS. This recipe was inspired by Jamie Oliver similar recipe but was tweaked so many times that I can almost claim it as my own.
