What to do with Left Overs?

It is awful when you have a lot of leftovers, you don't want to eat the same thing the same way for days, I encountered this many times, especially with big dinners such as Christmas turkey, or when I do big stews, etc. etc. The best of all is that this recipe is good for everything, either meat, chicken or turkey. I haven't tried it with Fish so I can't speak to that. But I have tried it with Christmas turkey, beef stew and simply chicken that I have left over. It was very very good every single time, so I hope this will comes to mind when you don't know what else to do with your left overs!

Leftovers Pie

Ingredients

2 bacon pieces, roughly chopped
½ bunch of fresh thyme, leaves picked
olive oil
butter
3 leeks, washed, trimmed; white end chopped into chunks, green end finely sliced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
400g of your meat, turkey or chicken leftovers
2 heaped tablespoons plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 cup of turkey, chicken or vegetable stock
1 to 2 tablespoons of crème fraîche
1 x 500g packet puff pastry
1/2 cup of pecans, roasted
2 sprigs fresh sage, leaves picked
1 egg

Directions

Preheat your oven to 375°F. Put your bacon in a large pan on a medium heat and add the thyme leaves. Add a splash of olive oil and the butter and let it fry for a few minutes. Add the leeks and fry them for about 3 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper then pop the lid on top, turn the heat down to medium and let them cook gently for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until they are soft and melt in your mouth.

When the leeks are ready, add the leftovers and stir. If you’ve got a bit of stuffing or any leftover veggies, add them too. Add the flour, mix it in well then pour in the stock and stir again. Add the crème fraîche then turn the heat up and bring everything back up to the boil. Have a taste and add a bit more salt and pepper if it needs it then you are done with the filling. Pour the mixture through a sieve over another large empty pan.

Get a deep baking dish roughly 22 x 30cm. Roll the pastry out so it’s about double the size of your dish. Crumble the pecans over one half of the pastry then tear a few of the sage leaves too. Fold the other half of pastry on top of them and then roll it out carefully and evenly so you have a rectangle big enough to cover your baking tray. Don’t worry if a few bits stick out here and there.

Spoon the leek mixture from your sieve into the pie dish and spread it out evenly. Lay your pastry on top, tuck the ends under then gently make some cuts to the pastry diagonally with your knife. Add a pinch of salt to your beaten egg then paint this egg wash over the top of your pastry. Put the pie in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until the pastry is puffed up and golden brown.

Serve hot and add some of the gravy you made from before!

This tastes heavenly!!