This is one of my favourite things to do with cooked turkey, and so it is my first choice of using up a mix of light and dark meat. Enrobed with a rich creamy sauce of leeks, mushrooms and bacon, enlivened with Armagnac and encased in a buttery flaky pastry. Yummy. Originated from Delia Smith’s Christmas
Course Main Course
Prep Time 30 minutesminutes
Cook Time 35 minutesminutes
Servings 6
Calories 546kcal
Ingredients
for the pastry
225gwholemeal plain flour(semi complet T80)
175gunsalted butterwell chilled
1pinchsalt
wateras needed
1eggbeaten (for sealing and glazing)
for the sauce
100glardonsor lean bacon, or cooked gammon or ham
1/2onionchopped
1leektrimmed, halved lengthwise and chopped
125gmushroomsquarted or cut in chunks
1tbspplain flourheaped
300mlgravy or turkey stock
100mlcreamany sort
2tbsparmagnacor brandy
sea salt
black pepper
1tbspparsleyfinely chopped
300gcooked turkeylight and dark, roughly chopped
Instructions
to make the pastry
Add salt to the flour.
Chop the butter into cubes and add to the flour if using a mixer, or grate the butter into the flour if doing it by hand.
When the butter is well mixed in to the flour, add enough water to just bring the dough together.
Wrap in cling film and put in the fridge.
to make the filling
In a large frying pan, sauté the lardons over medium heat until just starting to turn brown around the edges.
Add the butter and olive oil, then the onion and leeks, and cook gently until softened, stirring often.
Then add the mushrooms and cook for another couple of minutes.
Sprinkle in the flour and mix well to gather up all the lovely flavours in the pan.
Slowly add the gravy or stock, stirring well after each addition to keep it smooth and free from lumps, until you have a nice thick sauce.
Then add the cream and armagnac, and turn off the heat.
Check the seasoning, add the chopped parsley and then leave to cool while you roll out the pastry.
Preheat the oven to 200c (fan).
To make the pie
Roll out the dough large enough to make a 30cm square, but not too thick, about 3mm (there should be plenty of pastry left over).
Cut the pastry into a 30cm square and lay it onto a lined baking sheet.
Heap the filling in the centre, into a diamond shape, allowing for the fact that the corners are going to be brought together to make a parcel ( you may not want to use all the filling, I only used 2/3).
Brush all round the edges with beaten egg, then bring the corners up and crimp together.
Brush all over with beaten egg, and add decorative trimmings if you like, brushing them with egg also.
Bake in the oven at 200c for about 25 minutes, until beautifully golden.
Notes
Remaining filling and pastry can be wrapped in cling film and stored in the fridge for a day or so. I will make two individual patties with them.Serve with a crisp side salad, and maybe some sautéed potatoes and sprouts with a dollop of mayonnaise. Use up any remaining cranberry sauce too.If I had a lot of gammon, I would use that, but this year we had a tiny joint and there wasn’t much left, so I opted for some lean lardons instead. If you use lardons or bacon, start with them, otherwise add cooked gammon or ham once the onion and leek is softened. You can use all onion, or all leek, but I had half an onion left and one leek. I always buy mushrooms on my last shop before Christmas, but you could soak dried ones, or use them from the freezer if you don’t have any fresh. I haven’t yet made turkey stock, but I always make a huge quantity of gravy to go with our turkey, and this is a great way to use it upI like to keep the ingredients simple, to appreciate the flavour of the turkey, but of course you could use other veg like celery, or add leftover cooked peas, carrots or parsnips to the cooked sauce.