Smoked Turkey and Leek Pie

And another year bites the dust!  As quickly as it came, 2011 is nearly over, smell ya later: thanks for the good times!
Yesterday we had some family in, so I decided to use up my leftover smoked turkey that I purchased for a holiday party we had a couple of nights ago... my inspiration was the Jamie Oliver Christmas Special that I watched bout 4 times on Christmas Eve.  With the help of google, I was able to "translate" some of the British food measurement terms (what is a rasher, a knob or a pint), and I present you with a Canadian interpretation of Jamie's leftover turkey and leek pie.

Smoked Turkey & Leek Pie
Ingredients:
3 strips bacon, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
4 lbs leeks, washed and chopped - white & green parts
sea salt & black pepper
2-3 lbs left-over white turkey meat, chopped
2+ tbsp regular white flour
4 cups turkey or chicken stock
2 tbsp Double Devon Cream
397g pkg Tenderflake puff pastry dough
6-7 fresh sage leaves, rolled and chopped finely
1 egg, beaten with a little dash of salt added

Method:
First off, get that bacon going in a large stock pot over medium heat.  Once the bacon is starting to brown, add the olive oil, butter and thyme leaves. 

While this is getting crispy, clean and chop the leeks - you may have a "holy crap this is a lot of freaking leeks" moment, but let it pass - they will melt down to practically nothing. 

Add the leeks to your pot of fat and stir to ensure everything is coated.  Put a lid on it and set the timer for 30 minutes.  Give things a stir every 10 minutes or so.

While that leek magic is happening, get your turkey ready and chop your sage.  This is actually a pretty simple recipe... time keeps moving on and finally 30 minutes is up!  Add the turkey meat and stir to coat.  Next add the flour and stir to coat - I learned on Jamie's program that if you add flour to the goo before the liquid/stock goes in, you will avoid any lumpy nastiness!  Learning!

So now that you've stirred the flour, add your cream and stock.  Increase the heat and bring to a boil.  Give things a quick taste to see if you need any more seasoning... since I was using smoked turkey, I didn't really need too much salt.  Anyways, the rest of this recipe is super easy. 

Couldn't be any simpler - while things are bubbling away, prepare a sieve over top of another pot.    Transfer the goo into the sieve and mash down - what you're collecting below is a delicious gravy to serve with your pie (or if you're like me, slave over the gravy then completely forget to serve it with dinner!)

Will the goo is draining, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and roll out half of your pastry dough on a lightly floured surface.  Sprinkle with the sage leaves, then add the other half of the dough on top. Make sure this dough is large enough to cover the top of whatever dish you're going to bake the pie in.

Add the goo sans gravy to a baking dish and cover with the pastry.  Tuck in all sides, like you're putting it to bed, then using a knife, lightly score the top in a diagonal pattern and then brush with your egg mixture. 

Shove in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until crust is nice and golden.  Remove from oven and let rest for 5-10 minutes.

Serve with a side of baby peas and the gravy would probably be a great idea too!  (BTW I heated that gravy in a pot and added about another 4 tbsp of flour, a bit at a time and whisking in between additions - it was lovely with the leftovers for lunch today).

This is what it looks like with peas and gravy!

Everyone have a great NYE and see you all in the bloggersverse next year! xo