Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey Pot Pie

Copyright 2007 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients:
1 sheet frozen puff pastry
6 oz. cooked turkey meat (about 1 cup), diced or tiny strips
1 lb. fingerling potatoes, roughly cubed
5 crimini or button mushrooms, diced
2 carrot sticks, peeled and diced
3 celery stalks, diced (about ½ cup)
½ sweet onion, finely diced
¾ cup frozen peas
1 T fresh thyme
1 t Worcestershire sauce (optional)
2 cups chicken broth (home-made turkey broth if you have it)
1 cup water
½ cup white wine
¼ cup flour
1 egg
1 T extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Defrost puff pastry sheet per instructions on the box.

In a large saucepan, warm oil over medium high heat. Then add onions, carrot and celery and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes to soften. Then add mushrooms and cook for another 2 minutes (add some salt to season all the vegetables and to let the mushroom sweat out some moisture). Add flour and blend in with all the vegetables and allow to cook off the flour taste. Then add white wine and let the alcohol cook off (about 2 minutes).

Add broth, water, fresh thyme and potatoes and simmer for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Then add turkey strips, frozen peas and Worcestershire sauce and cook for another 10 minutes or until stock thickens from the flour. Season with salt and pepper to taste. When done, remove pot from heat and set aside. (You can also remove any twigs of thyme as well.)

Roll out your puff pastry sheet over wax paper with dusting of flour. Get one of your terrines or footed soup bowls and place it upside down on top of the sheet and cut around the bowl leaving about an inch excess around the edges. Cut enough for all your terrines. Ladle your turkey mixture into the terrines or footed soup bowls up to about a half-inch from the brim. Stretch the puff pastry over the top and press the edges against the side of the bowl. Use a small knife to pierce a few slots in the center.

In a small bowl, mix your egg with a bit of water to create an egg wash. Then with a pastry brush, lightly brush the egg wash over the pastry dough. Optional: Sprinkle a few sea salt on the top.

Place on cookie sheet and bake in oven for about 30 to 40 minutes until puff pastry is golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes before serving.

Makes three to four servings. Serve with a mixed green salad or other leftover greens from Thanksgiving.

Pair with a glass of white wine (use the same wine you used to make the pot pie).

TIP: You can substitute the fingerling potatoes with new potatoes or Yukon potatoes. I like the fingerling because they keep their shape better, but if you like your potatoes softer, then try another type. You can also fill your pot pie with whatever greens you have leftover from Thanksgiving dinner, such as Brussels sprouts or green beans. Just add them near the end to make sure they’re not overcooked.

LEFTOVERS THAT KEEP ON GIVING: You can make the soup-base for this pot pie and then refrigerate it and just bake the amount you need for that night. For your puff pastry, just wrap it with parchment paper and place it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Roll it out when you need to cut the cover for your pot pie, and then crumble the rest into a ball to save for the next night.