Leftover Christmas Dinner Pie
Turn your festive leftovers into another meal with our leftover Christmas dinner pie. Full of roasted meat & a punchy cheese sauce, it's a belter!
Servings: 6 People
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Rolling Pin
- 9" Pie Dish
- Large Saucepan
- Stick Blender
- Pastry Brush
- Large Baking Tray
- Digital Food Probe
Ingredients
Pastry
- 350 g Plain Flour
- 140 g Unsalted Butter Cold & Diced
- 75 g Lard Cold & Diced
- ½ tsp Fine Sea Salt
- 1 Large Egg
- 1-2 tbsp Cold Water
Filling - Sauce
- 50 g Unsalted Butter
- 50 g Plain Flour
- 500 ml Milk Whole Or Semi Skimmed
- 300 ml Chicken Stock
- 100 g Brie Cut Into Small Pieces
- 75 g Cheddar Grated
- 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
- Nutmeg To Taste
- 1 tbsp Finely Chopped Parsley
Filling - Christmas Leftovers
- 350 g Roast Turkey
- 175 g Stuffing
- 6 Pigs In Blankets
Assembly
- 10 g Unsalted Butter Softened - For Greasing The Pie Dish
- 1 Egg Yolk
- 1 tsp Cold Water
Instructions
Pastry
- Place the flour, butter, lard & sea salt into a mixing bowl then rub together until the mix resembles breadcrumbs but with some larger chunks of fat still visible.
- Add in the egg & 1 tbsp of cold water then mix to form a rough dough.If the pastry needs more water to come together, add more in, a small amount at a time.
- Tip the dough out onto a clean worksurface & knead gently until smooth (be careful not to overwork the pastry) then flatten into a disc & wrap in clingfilm. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Filling
- Place the butter into a large saucepan & melt over a medium heat.
- Stir in the flour then cook out for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add in half the milk, whisk until smooth & cook out until thick, stirring regularly. This will take 2-3 minutes over a medium heat.
- Next, pour in the remaining milk & keep cooking until thickened again.
- Now add in half the chicken stock & reduce the heat to medium-low. Continue cooking, stirring/whisking regularly until the sauce has thickened back up.
- Pour in the rest of the stock then keep cooking until the flour has been cooked out & the sauce has thickened for a final time.
- Reduce the heat to low, add in the mustard, nutmeg & cheeses then stir until melted. Season the sauce with salt & pepper then take off the heat.
- Give the cheese sauce a good blitz with a stick blender then leave to cool.
- In the meantime, chop the turkey, stuffing & pigs in blankets into 1-2cm pieces. Once the sauce is cool, add in the leftovers & chopped parsley then stir to combine.
Assembly
- Take the pastry out of the fridge & leave to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes, to warm up slightly.
- Grease a 9" pie dish with the softened butter.
- Next, roll out half the pastry on a lightly floured worksurface into a large circle, 5mm thick.
- Line the pie dish with the rolled out pastry then add in the filling. Brush the edge of the pastry lightly with cold water.
- Roll out the remaining pastry into a 5mm thick circle, about an inch bigger than the top of the pie dish.
- Lay the pastry on top of the pie, pressing the edges lightly, to seal. Trim the edges with a pair of scissors, leaving around 1cm overhanging.
- Fold the overhanging edge back onto the rim of the pie dish & crimp, thinning out the pastry slightly between your fingers as you do so.
- Cut a cross in the middle of the pie (to let the steam out as it bakes) then chill in the fridge for at least an hour, or up to 2 days.
Cooking
- Preheat an oven to 200°c/180°c (392°f/356°f) with a large baking tray inside.
- Whisk the egg yolk & cold water together with a pinch of table salt then brush a thin layer over the top of your pie. Return the pie to the fridge & chill whilst your oven heats up (at least 20 minutes).
- Brush another thin layer of egg wash over your pie then sprinkle lightly with sea salt.
- Place the pie in the preheated oven, on the baking tray & cook for 45-50 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown & crisp and the filling is piping hot (if you take the temperature with a food probe, it should be at least 75°c/167°f).If the pie starts to brown too much, cover it loosely with foil.
- Once cooked, let the pie stand for at least 20 minutes then cut into portions & serve.
Notes
1. Cooking In An Aga - Cook the pie in the roasting oven, on the bottom set of runners. If it starts to brown too much, slide a cold plain shelf in, a couple of runners up.
2. Pastry - For the best results, make sure to chill the pastry before rolling it out & before baking. If you don't have any lard, feel free to replace it with extra butter.
3. Christmas Leftovers - For the filling, we're using roasted turkey, pigs in blankets & stuffing. If you've not got enough of one of these, add in extra of another.
4. Cheese - The filling is designed to use up leftover cheese board cheese as well. I use brie & cheddar but feel free to use whatever cheese you have in the fridge.
5. Reheating - This pie is best served immediately but any leftovers can be stored in the fridge (for up to 2 days) & reheated. To reheat, either microwave or cook in the oven until piping hot.