Pot Pies

Day 45: Here's something else you can do with turkey leftovers: make pot pies. No, not THAT kind of "pot" (you should know me better than that!) Pot pies are are a single-serving dish, and don't really need any other accompaniments. You'll find a commercial variety in the freezer case of your grocery store, and tend to be a little on the skint side when it comes to the protein in the filling. Make them yourself, and put in as much meat as you'd like. You'll need six four-inch pie tins for the amount of dough in the recipe.

The crusts are a hot-water pastry. I use John Kirkwood's recipe (below), which I will repeat here. You can find more of his recipes on YouTube. You will need the following:

400 g all-purpose flour
170 ml hot water (almost boiling)
90 g butter
100 g shortening or lard
1 tsp salt

Melt the butter and shortening in hot water. Combine the flour and salt, and ake a well in the middle. Add the water and melted butter/shortening, and stir in with the handle of a wooden spoon until the pastry comes together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure that all the flour is incorporated. Form the dough into a ball, divide into two parts (2/3 to line the pans and 1/3 for the lids), cover closely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour and a half. You want the dough to be cool, but not so cold that it's difficult to handle. Divide each dough ball into six pieces. Roll them out to a bit under 1/8" thick to line the tins and trim the edges. After you've added the filling, dampen the rims of the crusts, and add the lids, pressing the dough together all the way around. Crimp the edges for a nice look, and poke a hole in the center to vent steam. Brush the tops with a wash made from one egg yolk and a little water.

The filling isn't rocket science. It can be ad-libbed at your discretion. I used turkey, partially thawed frozen mixed veg and a dollop of chicken-flavoured cream gravy. You need to put about 1 Tbsp of gravy in each pie (not too much, or the crusts will go soggy), but make plenty. You'll want it to pour over the pies when you serve them. Bake the pies at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, or until the tops are nicely browned. They freeze well, and can be reheated in the oven or microwave.