Turkey & Potato Pie

Children eat with their eyes as well as their tummies. Making individual portions in ramekins is so much more appealing than a dollop of food on a plate. Sweating the vegetables slowly with the thyme and then reducing the white wine vinegar gives a lovely flavour.  This tasty turkey pie also freeze well so you could serve one as a main course and freeze three for days when you don’t have time to cook..

Ingredients

30g/1oz butter
1 small shallot, diced (40g)
1 medium carrot, diced (100g)
1/2 small leek, thinly sliced (30g)
1/4 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
4 tsp white wine vinegar
20g/2/3 oz cornflour
400ml chicken stock
2 tbsp crème fraiche
225g/8oz  cooked  turkey (white and dark meat) cut into bite sized pieces
500g/1lb 2oz potatoes, peeled and cubed
15g butter
3 tbsp milk
1 egg white lightly beaten (optional)
 

Method:

Melt the butter and sweat the vegetables and thyme for 10 minutes, until soft. Add the vinegar and boil until the vinegar had evaporated then stir in the cornflour. Add the stock a little at a time to make a smooth sauce then add the crème fraiche and season to taste with salt and pepper. Allow to cool.

Boil the potatoes in plenty of salted water for around 15 minutes, until just tender. Drain the potatoes then mash well. Beat in the butter and milk and season to taste.

Preheat the oven to 200c/400F/Gas 6/180 Fan.

Put the turkey into the base of ramekins or small dishes (I use 9.5 cm diameter ramekins) and spoon the sauce on top. Spoon over the mash and fork the surface of each pie. Put the dishes on a baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes The tops can be browned further under a hot grill and if you brush them with a little egg white they will brown nicely.

To freeze –do so before baking stage. To serve, defrost overnight in the fridge and follow the baking instructions above.

Information
Makes 4 portions