What’s that you say? You have leftovers from Christmas Day? Unheard of.
Previously I’ve made Jamie’s sweet leek pie with leftover poultry and it’s brill. Using that as an inspiration I made a mushroom version and it’s just as good.
Turkey and mushroom pie (serves 4 – 6):
1 onion, diced
1 sprig rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
300g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
Christmas dinner leftovers, about 800g (I had turkey and stuffing)
500ml stock (ideally turkey stock made from the carcass, but chicken would be fine)
300ml creme fraiche
A sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry
1 egg, beaten
Heat a little oil in a large casserole dish, then add the onions, rosemary and mushrooms. Stir fry a little and cover with a lid to sweat for about ten minutes. Add the turkey leftovers, stock and creme fraiche and simmer for ten further minutes.
Preheat the oven to 170°C. Pop a sieve over a saucepan and tip the turkey mix into the sieve. When the creamy gravy has all strained off transfer the mushroomy meat to a baking dish and cover with the pastry. Brush with the beaten egg and bake for 30 minutes or until golden. Serve with the creamy gravy that has been warmed through over the hob.
Y’know when Jamie’s on his thing? Going for it like a nutter and saying this recipe is the best thing ever? Well I got caught up in his craziness and decided to make this, the kitchen sink of beef pies. I made a tiny change in substituting stout for red wine (can’t abide beer / lager etc in pies – beer batter on fish is just vile) but other than that it’s the same.
This recipe from Jamie’s Great Britain is just OK – yes, a decent beef stew with a pastry lid but no more than that. I was quite disappointed all told, I was expecting fireworks but ended up with a perfectly OK pie.
Good, but not worth making again.
PS. A big shout out to Farmer’s Choice for their excellent casserole beef though – meltingly tender and full of flavour.
Kate & Wills’s Wedding Pie (serves 6):
2 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked
2 bay leaves
2 red onions, peeled and sliced
500g casserole beef, diced
1 tablespoon tomato puree
200ml red wine
1 tablespoon flour
750ml beef stock
70g pearl barley
1 teaspoon English mustard
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
50g Cheddar cheese, grated
For the pastry:
150g plain flour
50g suet
50 balt
1 egg, beaten
Put a large casserole pan over a high heat and add some olive oil. Toss in the herbs, onions and meat with a little seasoning. Mix well and cook for 10 minutes.
Add the tomato puree, wine, flour and stock and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat down low, stuff the lid on and cook for an hour. Then add the pearl barley and leave for another hour. Remove the lid and simmer for another 30 minutes. Add the mustard, Worcestershire sauce and cheese and check the seasoning. Leave to cool while you make the pastry.
Rub the flour, suet and butter together until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in 60ml cold water and bring it together. Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for half an hour.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Ladle the stew into a deep pie dish. Roll out the pastry to about 1cm thick and cover the pie dish. Brush over the egg wash and bake for about 45 minutes, or until the pastry is golden.
I possess the world’s worst hands for handling pastry. Fact. These hot hams won’t be churning out mille feuille any time soon.
So I tried my best at one of these recipe ideas from BakingMad using simple old short crust. I made a few changes to make sure the meat was completely tender and gave it a cheese-flavoured savoury pastry that just finished it off nicely. I handled the dough as little as possible and it seemed to turn out OK. It made a rich, savoury stewy pie that left me licking the bowl.
I’ve freezed a whole bunch of it so I can look forward to more pies over the next few weeks.
1kg casserole beef (such as braising, shin, blade), diced
1 onion, thickly sliced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons flour
500ml beef stock
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
400g mushrooms, thickly sliced
First make the pastry. Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the cheese, then add the egg and enough milk to bring it all together. Try not to mess about with it too much, but press enough so that it comes together. When it forms a ball wrap in cling film and store in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
Get a large lidded casserole on a high heat, add a splash of oil and brown the beef all over. Do this in batches as necessary so as not to crowd the pan.
Lower the heat and add the onions and carrots. Cook until the onions are lightly browned, then stir in the flour. After a minute put the heat back up and add a little of the stock, scraping up all the crusty bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining stock and all the other ingredients, pop a lid on and leave to simmer for about 2 hours, or until the beef is tender. If it’s a little watery at this point, take the lid off and ramp the heat up to reduce it down.
Spoon the beef filling into dishes you’ll eventually cook the pies in. Allow to cool before adding the pastry, otherwise it’ll be all soggy underneath (eurgh).
Roll out the pastry as thin as you like and press on to your pie dishes. Press around the edges with a fork and slash the middle to allow the steam to escape. At this point you can freeze the pies (defrost thoroughly before baking).
If you’re eating now, get the oven on 180°C and brush the pies with milk. Bake for 30 mins or until the pastry is golden and risen.
At the risk of sounding like a raging sycophant, I haven’t yet come across a Jamie 30 Minute Meal that isn’t a) extremely doable in the time, and b) darn tasty to boot. But they just are!
This chicken pie is no exception. A rich and tasty pie that ticks all the “chicken pie please” boxes. There’s supposed to be peas & lettuce simmered in stock with this too, but the carrots were enough for me.
Dessert was a rapid and shameless quick switcheroo from a different 30 minute meal, but just what I fancied. Thick, creamy and sweet too.
2 skinless chicken breasts, sliced into 1 cm pieces
1 red onion, peeled
7 – 8 chestnut mushrooms
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon English mustard
1 tablespoon creme fraiche
200ml chicken stock
A few sprigs of thyme, leaves picked
½ nutmeg
1 sheet of pre-rolled puff pastry
1 egg
For the smash:
4 – 5 carrots
Handful of parsley, roughly chopped
For the mascarpone cherries:
½ tin cherries
150g tub mascarpone
A little milk
1 heaped teaspoon icing sugar
Some shortbread biscuits
Get the oven on 200°C, the kettle full and boiling, a big frying pan on a low heat, a large lidded saucepan on a low heat and chuck the thick slicer disc in the food processor.
Add a little oil and butter to the frying pan, add the chicken and fry for a couple of minutes. Throw the mushrooms and onion into the food processor, slice and add to the pan. Stir in the flour, work it around the pan then add the mustard, creme fraiche, stock, thyme and nutmeg. Leave to simmer.
Slice the carrots in the food processor and add to the saucepan. Cover with water from the kettle and bring up the heat – simmer for 15 minutes until tender.
Check the chicken mix for seasoning, then tip into a baking dish. Cover with a sheet of puff pastry and slice liberally with a knife, then brush over the beaten egg. Pop in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden and puffed up.
For the dessert, crumble some biscuits in the bottom of a serving bowl. Mix the mascarpone with some milk to slacken to a creamy paste, then stir in the sugar. Plop this on top of the biscuit and dot with cherries, tipping on a little of the tin juice with it. Put to one side until dinner’s done.
Back at the carrots, if they’re tender drain, season, add a splash of oil and seasoning, then stir through the parsley. Get the pie out of the oven and start eating!
