More turkey…

This time commandeered into a pie.

Ingredients

1 kg leeks, sliced into 1/2 centimetre rounds

A splash of olive oil and a smidge of butter

Pinch of dried or fresh thyme

As much cold turkey, goose or chicken meat as you have (400-600g is a good guide), torn into big chunks

Any leftover ham, torn into small pieces

2 heaped tablespoons plain flour

1/2 pint chicken or vegetable stock

2 tablespoons crème fraîche (if you have it)

500 g puff pastry

1 egg yolk, beaten

How to make

Melt a smidge of butter with a splash of oil in a large frying pan on medium heat, and fry the leeks for 3 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and a pinch of thyme.

2. Put the lid on the pan, and reduce the heat to quite low. Cook the leeks at this temperature for 30 minutes, checking on them every 10 minutes or so and giving them a shove to make sure they’re not catching on the bottom of the pan. They’ll give off a lot of liquid, so really should be fine.

3. When your leeks have had their time, preheat the oven to 190°C.

4. Now come the leftovers: add all your meat to the pan and stir through. Add anything extra at this point (Stuffing? Potatoes? Sprouts?). Stir it all through, and then mix in the flour. Add the stock and stir again, and the creme fraiche if you’re using it. Bring the mixture gently to a boil. If the mixture seems too wet for your liking, reduce a little bit.

5. Decant the pie mixture into a large, deep pie dish. Using the whole sheet of puff pastry if you have a sheet, or rolling it so the there’s an inch or so excess on each side if not, place it on top of the filling and tuck the excess in, or loosely crimp it around the edge. Paint the pastry with the egg yolk (mixed with a tiny bit of salt) so that the pastry burnishes as it cooks.

6. Bake for 35 minutes until puffed and golden and gorgeous.

7. Ta Dah!

Icing on the Cake

If you’re making leftovers pie, the last thing you want to be doing is fannying around with accoutrements, so we eat this with lots of frozen peas and nothing else.