Turkey Pot Pie

Turkey Pot Pie

 

Serves: 6-8 servings

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 45 mins

Total time: 1 hour

 

Ingredients

• 10-ounce bag fresh, raw pearl onions (frozen may also be used)
• 1 quart turkey stock (see recipe here)
• 2 cups carrots sliced thick and on the bias, cut to bite sized
• 2 cups peeled red potatoes cut to bite sized pieces
• 1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme or ½ teaspoon dry
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley or ½ tablespoon dry
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon white pepper
• ⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon Colman’s dry mustard powder
• ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• Few drops Tabasco sauce
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 7 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 ½ pounds cooked turkey cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 cup additional leftover vegetables, if you have them such as green beans, parsnips, etc. (optional)
• 1 or 2 rounds of pie crust, (homemade or store-bought) at room temperature
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Instructions

1. (Note: If using frozen pearl onions, please skip this step.) Bring a small pan of water to a boil and toss in pearl onions, skin and all. Boil covered for three minutes and drain. Plunge into ice water to cool. On a cutting board, cut off root end of onion and squeeze the other end. A perfect pearl onion will pop out. Repeat for all of the onions and discard the skins and roots.
2. In a medium to large pot, place pearl onions, stock, carrots, potatoes, thyme, parsley, salt, pepper, nutmeg, mustard powder, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce. Bring to a boil and simmer 10-15 minutes until vegetables are tender.
3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
4. While vegetables are cooking, in a small pan, melt butter and add flour. Stir and cook over low heat about 4-5 minutes or until the raw flour smell is gone. Set aside.
5. Once the vegetables are tender, remove from heat and add the cream, peas, turkey and optional leftover vegetables. Add butter flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until sauce is thick and creamy. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
6. Pour mixture into a 3-quart casserole dish or pan.
7. Open up the sheets of pie dough and use one or two that will cover the shape of the casserole dish or pan but don't cover it yet. Using a cookie cutter in the shape of a turkey, fall leaf, acorn or other fall shape, make the cut in the center of the pie. If you are using a wide pan, pinch the two pieces of dough together to fit the shape of the pan and make your cut in the center. Any leftover dough can be baked separately along with the decorative cutouts (see optional step below).
8. Place the dough over the pie and crimp the sides to make a decorative border.
9. Beat the egg with a teaspoon of water and brush onto the dough tops including the cut outs and extra dough. Then sprinkle the sugar all over the tops, sticking to the egg wash.
10. Place the pie in the center of the oven (you may want to place a piece of foil under the dish in case the sauce bubbles over) and bake 25 to 30 minutes until the crust is golden and the pie is bubbling. Remove and let set for ten minutes before serving.
11. Optional step: On a separate sheet pan, place the cut outs and extra crust and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden. These pieces will take less than half the time to cook as the covered pie does. Depending on how creative you are and how much crust you have, you could serve each finished portion of pie with a decorative shape.