Do you still have some Thanksgiving leftovers hanging around? Are you growing a little tired of turkey sandwiches? Please say yes. And then please, make this.
This year’s holiday was quite a success, if I do say so myself. It will be a model for all future Thanksgivings I host. From now on, I will always brine my turkey. I will happily delegate dishes to friends and family to preserve my own sanity. And I will always make a pot pie out of the leftovers. In fact, I will probably make larger meals all winter, just so I can make more pot pies. They are the ultimate cold-weather comfort food. And they are awesomely good.
I will list the ingredients I used below, but you can use whatever you’d like. Just make enough stuff to fill your pie, and hold it all together with some gravy. You really can’t go wrong!
Turkey Pot Pie
(adapted from Bon Appétit via Epicurious)
- 2 pie crusts
- 1 ½ cups of turkey, diced or shredded
- 1 cup of carrots, thinly sliced
- 1 cup of mushrooms, sliced
- 1 cup of green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup of mashed potatoes
- ½ cup of frozen peas
- ½ cup of scallions (or onion), sliced
- 1 heaping cup of gravy
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 tsp fresh sage chopped
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 egg white
Roll out one round of dough and place it in your pie pan. Trim off any excess and chill in the fridge.
Melt butter and olive oil in a large saucepan. Add in scallions and mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms just begin to soften and release a little liquid. (If you are using onion instead of scallions, cook onion for a few minutes, until it becomes translucent, then add the mushrooms.) Add carrots and green beans and cook for another two minutes. Add turkey, gravy, peas, mashed potatoes, herbs, salt, and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat. Let simmer until it has thickened slightly.
Remove mixture from heat and let it rest for a few minutes, then pour it into your chilled pie crust. Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
When the pie is nearly done chilling, preheat your oven to 400°. Roll out your second dough round until it is big enough to cover the top of the pie. Trim excess, then pinch edges to seal. Brush top with egg white. Score a few times to release steam during baking.
Bake for 30–35 minutes, or until the crust begins to turn a pretty golden brown. Remove pie and let it rest for at least 15 minutes (this will be difficult, because it’s going to smell good).
After you’ve waited for as long as you can stand, cut pie into hearty slices. Serve it with a side of leftover cranberry sauce, if you are so inclined. Be prepared to go back for seconds!
