Chef Thomas
Cauliflower Cheese
A whole cauliflower blanketed in strong, mustardy cheese sauce, baked until the top blisters gold and the kitchen smells like the kind of evening where nothing else needs doing.
Culinary Explorer
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Turkey and Ham Pie
Created by Chef Thomas
Leftover turkey and thick-cut ham in a tarragon cream sauce under a golden puff pastry lid, the dish that makes you grateful you always cook too much at Christmas.
Main Dishes
British
Christmas
Make Ahead
30 min
Active Time
45 min cook•1 hr 15 min total
Yield6 servings
The house is quieter now. The big day is done, the table cleared, and the fridge is full of things wrapped in foil. A turkey carcass, half a ham, the tail end of the bread sauce nobody quite finished. Boxing Day has its own rhythm: slower, softer, the kind of day where you drift into the kitchen in socks and start pulling things together without a plan.
This pie is what happens when you open the fridge and take stock. Leftover turkey, torn into rough pieces. Good ham, the kind you bought properly and carved yourself, cut into chunks that hold their own against the bird. A sauce made with butter, flour, and stock, the real sort if you simmered the carcass overnight, enriched with cream and a good handful of tarragon. Tarragon is the herb that understands poultry. It's not subtle, but it's right. A little Dijon mustard for backbone. A squeeze of lemon to keep everything honest.
Puff pastry on top, the all-butter kind from the shop. I've made my own and I'll make it again, but not today. Today is about putting the leftovers to work without turning it into a project. The pastry puffs and gilds itself golden in the oven, the filling bubbles up through the slit in the lid, and within the hour you've turned the remnants of Christmas into something worth sitting down for. There are few better feelings than putting a warm plate in front of someone on a cold afternoon when nobody expected anything more than sandwiches.
I wrote it down in the notebook last year: Turkey pie. Tarragon. The 27th. Everyone came back for seconds. That's all the review it needs.
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Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
leftover roast turkey
Quantity
400g
torn into generous pieces
leftover ham
Quantity
200g
cut into rough chunks
leeks
Quantity
2 large
white and pale green parts, sliced
unsalted butter
Quantity
40g
plain flour
Quantity
40g
turkey or chicken stock
Quantity
500ml
double cream
Quantity
150ml
tarragon
Quantity
small bunch
leaves picked and chopped
Dijon mustard
Quantity
1 teaspoon
lemon juice
Quantity
a squeeze
fine sea salt
Quantity
to taste
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
all-butter puff pastry
Quantity
320g sheet
egg
Quantity
1
beaten with a splash of milk
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| leftover roast turkeytorn into generous pieces | 400g |
| leftover hamcut into rough chunks | 200g |
| leekswhite and pale green parts, sliced | 2 large |
| unsalted butter | 40g |
| plain flour | 40g |
| turkey or chicken stock | 500ml |
| double cream | 150ml |
| tarragonleaves picked and chopped | small bunch |
| Dijon mustard | 1 teaspoon |
| lemon juice | a squeeze |
| fine sea salt | to taste |
| black pepper | to taste |
| all-butter puff pastry | 320g sheet |
| eggbeaten with a splash of milk | 1 |
Equipment Needed
- •1.5-litre pie dish, ceramic or enamel
- •Large heavy-bottomed saucepan
- •Rolling pin
- •Pastry brush
Instructions
- 1
Soften the leeks
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a gentle heat. Add the sliced leeks with a pinch of salt and let them soften for eight to ten minutes, stirring now and then, until they've gone translucent and sweet and the kitchen smells clean and oniony. Don't let them colour. You want silk, not caramel.
Wash the leeks well. Split them lengthways and rinse under cold water. Sand in a pie filling is not something anyone forgives. - 2
Build the sauce
Stir the flour into the softened leeks and cook for a minute or two, stirring, until it smells biscuity and coats everything in a pale paste. Pour in the stock gradually, a ladleful at a time, stirring constantly. It will seize up at first, then loosen. Keep going. Once all the stock is in, let it simmer gently for five minutes until the sauce is smooth and has the consistency of thick pouring cream. Stir in the double cream, the mustard, and a squeeze of lemon. Season well. Taste it. The sauce should be savoury and rounded, with just enough acidity to cut through the richness.
If you've made stock from the turkey carcass on Christmas night, this is where it pays you back. The depth of a homemade stock carries the whole pie. If you haven't, a decent bought stock will do. No shame in it. - 3
Add the meat and tarragon
Take the pan off the heat. Fold in the turkey and ham, making sure everything is well coated in the sauce. Add the chopped tarragon and stir through. The filling should be generous and slightly loose; it will thicken as it bakes. If it looks stiff, add a splash more stock. Transfer the filling to a 1.5-litre pie dish and let it cool to room temperature. Putting pastry over a hot filling is asking for a soggy bottom and a collapsed lid.
Tear the turkey rather than cutting it. Ragged edges catch the sauce better than clean slices. The ham can be chunkier. You want each forkful to give you both. - 4
Top with pastry
Set the oven to 200C/180C fan. Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface until it's a couple of centimetres larger than the pie dish. Cut a thin strip from the edge and press it onto the rim of the dish, wetting the rim first so it sticks. Brush this strip with the beaten egg. Lay the pastry sheet over the top, pressing the edges to seal. Trim the excess and crimp with a fork or your fingers, whichever feels right. Cut a small slit in the centre to let the steam out. Brush the whole lid generously with the egg wash.
- 5
Bake until golden
Bake for thirty-five to forty-five minutes, until the pastry has puffed up and turned a deep, burnished gold. You'll know it's ready when you can smell it from another room and the filling is bubbling through the slit in the top. Let it sit for five minutes before serving. A pie straight from the oven will scald you and the filling needs a moment to settle. Serve it at the table, straight from the dish, with something green alongside.
Chef Tips
- •The filling must be completely cool before the pastry goes on. Warm filling melts the butter in the pastry and you end up with a lid that's pale and soggy where it should be crisp and golden. If you're in a hurry, spread the filling in a wide dish rather than a deep one. It cools faster.
- •Tarragon and turkey is one of those combinations that just works. Use fresh if you can get it. Dried tarragon has a different character, more aniseed and less green, so use it sparingly. Half a teaspoon of dried where you'd use a tablespoon of fresh.
- •This is a pie that wants something sharp alongside it. Buttered cabbage with a grating of nutmeg, or a simple green salad dressed with mustard vinaigrette. The filling is rich and creamy and it needs a counterpoint.
- •If you've got leftover gravy in the fridge, stir a couple of spoonfuls into the sauce. It adds a depth that stock alone can't quite manage.
Advance Preparation
- •The filling can be made a day ahead and kept refrigerated. In fact, it improves overnight as the tarragon steeps into the sauce. Bring it back to room temperature before topping with pastry.
- •The whole pie can be assembled, unbaked, and refrigerated for up to twenty-four hours. Add five minutes to the baking time if it goes into the oven cold.
- •Leftovers reheat well in a moderate oven, loosely covered with foil to stop the pastry catching. The microwave will get it hot but the pastry will suffer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 290g)
Calories
600 calories
Total Fat
37 g
Saturated Fat
22 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
15 g
Cholesterol
165 mg
Sodium
900 mg
Total Carbohydrates
31 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
3 g
Protein
32 g
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