Let’s face it, Christmas food is the best food. Turkey, mince pies, stuffing, we love them all. But we always buy more than we actually need in fear that there won’t be enough or we might all get snowed in (we can hope, anyway).
Our wonderful choice of self catering cottages in the UK offers up fantastic facilities, including some great kitchens. Cooking and baking while you're on holiday is a great way to relax and unwind whilst keeping busy. Making some special treats will add that extra sparkle to your festive trip away.
In that time of calm between Christmas and New Year, use up those leftovers and show off your wonderful culinary skills (or use a simple recipe that looks amazing) to your family and friends with this recipe. These muffin tin turkey pies thought up by the geniuses at Philleigh Way are a great addition to a Boxing Day buffet lunch or a light evening dinner if you've eaten a little too much over the festive period. For New Year, cook up a big batch of them in smaller muffin tins and serve as luxurious finger food. A great all round recipe for quiet nights in or big gatherings.
This simple easy-to-make recipe is perfect for using up your leftover meat and making a comforting winter warmer.
Ingredients (makes 4)
Pastry
200g flour
100g butter
A pinch of salt
Enough water to bind
Pie Filling
100g turkey, cooked
Half a leek, sliced
25g butter
25g flour
300ml warm milk
A teaspoon of English mustard
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
For the pastry:
Rub the butter and the flour together between your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the salt and mix.
Next, add the water a little at a time and bring the mixture together until it forms a dough. Leave to rest in the fridge, wrapped in cling film.
For the filling:
Grab a frying pan and melt the butter. Cook the leeks and garlic until soft then add the flour. Leave to cook for 2-3 minutes.
Warm the milk in a separate pan and gradually add to the leek mixture. You may not need to add all the milk as the mixture should remain fairly thick.
Finally, add the turkey and season with the mustard, salt and pepper to taste.
Assembling the pies:
Once you’ve made the filling, remove the pastry from the fridge and roll it out to the thickness of a pound coin. Using a large pie/pastry cutter, cut four circles and place them into buttered muffin tins. You’ll also need to cut four pie lids with a smaller cutter and pop these to one side for now.
Fill the pie cases with the turkey and leek mixture. Egg wash the bottom of the lids and place on top of your pies. Then egg wash the tops of the pies and pierce to allow air to escape.
Finally, cook at 200 degrees C for 20-25 minutes.
