Post Roast Pie

Hurrah! I shrieked from the rooftops on Friday when I saw that the glorious weather we had been sooo incredibly lucky to be having was potentially going to break on Sunday.  And what better day to do it I ask you? Off I went to shop in the chest freezer to dig out a chicken I had stashed in there for this very moment.  Not that I haven’t been thoroughly enjoying my husbands new all singing all dancing bbq and all that it was producing….but I just craved a roast, and gravy and yes roast potatoes..in May.  I’m sure like me you also have a quite a few parsnips still in the veg basket that had previously been flying out the door for roasts every weekend before the sun started shining, but then suddenly started building up, and slightly shrivelling up too.  So the opportunity arose and I grabbed it.  Roast chicken and all the trimmings for us…which also means leftovers…bonus. This leads me perfectly to this weeks recipe: Post Roast Pie. 

If you asked my children what they would like me to cook with the leftovers of Sundays roast, this puff pastry topped pie would come out on top 10 times out of 10.  The best thing about it is that anything goes with this number chaps.  You’ll see from my pics that I only put in leftover chicken and carrots, as that was all I had left and then I used milk for my sauce because I, well to be totally honest I forgot to keep the gravy and gave it to the dog on her breakfast!!  Lucky Maggie, but not such a flavoursome pie for us! I think the mustard is a great addition to the sauce, giving it a little kick and an added richness, though it can be excluded if you prefer. The puff pastry is just the perfect topping, with its delicious buttery flavour, and crispness but if you can’t get your hands on any then mash up some pots, add some butter and milk and use that instead.

So in short have a look in your fridge if you don’t have much veg left over from the roast, you can add carrots, leeks, mushrooms,  just soften them in some melted butter first….or quickly boil some peas and add them in too.  I have known a few roast parsnips to sneak in. If you’re not using the leftover gravy and using milk then add some chopped tarragon to the white sauce, if you don’t have any then parsley or thyme will work well too.

Fondest love,
Lucy xx

Serves 4

Preheat the oven to 220C/200 Fan
375g pack of ready made puff pastry

50g butter

50g plain flour

500ml chicken stock (or a combination of stock and gravy)

75 ml double cream

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 egg, beaten

Salt and pepper
Optional extras  – mushrooms- parsley, thyme or tarragon if making with milk

1. Chop up your chicken and veg into bite sized chunks and set aside in a bowl.

2. Melt the butter over a medium heat, and once melted beat in the flour with a wooden spoon. Cook the roux (butter and flour mixture) for a minute or two to ensure the flour is cooked.

3. Slowly start adding the stock/gravy/milk to make a smooth paste, then use a balloon whisk to incorporate all the liquid and keep mixing to avoid any lumps.  Keep an eye on the thickness of the sauce as you may need to add a little more.  Once it is all incorporated, bubble for a few minutes, and take off the heat.

4. Add the cream, dijon mustard, and season to taste.

5. Stir the chicken and vegetables into the sauce and pour into your pie dish.

6. Lightly flour the worktop and roll out your pastry to fit your dish, putting a little egg wash around the edges of the dish before laying the pastry on top.  Pinch around the edges to seal, and cut a little steam hole in the centre.  If there are any trimmings roll out again and cut some shapes to decorate the top. Brush all over with the rest of the egg.

7. Pop the pie into the oven, reducing the temperature to 200C/180Fan and cook for 35-40 minutes until lovely and golden brown and piping hot! Please keep an eye on the pie, as all ovens are different.