Turkey & Leek PieWell, as I haven't posted anything for about a year, you can easily tell that I seriously haven't accomplished what I wanted to when I started out doing this. After Thanksgiving, though, I'm finding a renewed sense of energy and desire to carve out time for myself in my own schedule. A few days off will really change your perspective on things!
Just an update: My first year of fellowship was great. It kept me busy (obviously), but also allowed me the chance to grow as a clinician and neuroscientist in ways I never thought possible. I never thought this is what I'd do when I grew up (I wanted to be an archeologist ballerina... not one right after the other, but both simultaneously. I think the tulle and pointe shoes may have not done well at digs, but that was completely beside the point at the time). I feel very fortunate to study one of the most fascinating elements of God's creation: the human being, and the brain that houses him. Since I last posted, I've passed that horrible licensing exam I wrote about before (the Exam for the Professional Practice of Psychology... better known as "4.5 hours of your life you'll never get back, not counting the months of studying leading up to it..."). I have some hopeful job prospects (which I'll fill you in on later when things are more certain).
Now I need to cook more. :)
Today, I was focused on doing something tasty with the leftover turkey from Thanksgiving. It was a glorious bird from the start and inspired by another new development over the past year: My mother has discovered new (and numerous) food sensitivities, which are helped by eating organic as much as she can. We ordered the turkey (the aforementioned glorious bird) from Whole Foods this year, and it didn't disappoint, as you can see.
The majority of this turkey got eaten without delay. I don't think it ever knew what hit it. After this point, though, I was left with about seven cups of perfectly good turkey meat (both white and dark) that I didn't know exactly what to do with. These weren't the bits that you can easily slice and make sandwiches out of, although an open-faced sandwich topped with the remainder of the Thanksgiving gravy and some cranberry sauce... that might need to be part of my plan in the next couple days!
These seven cups lent themselves well to a lovely recipe I've made before, only with chicken. I thought about it again, and my official Taste Tester thought it was a great idea to make it again with the leftover turkey. This chicken & leek pie, turned turkey & leek pie, is mildly flavored with simple, straightforward ingredients. The leeks give a great freshness and eliminate the need for chopping endless onions and garlic (as leeks are in the same family as both, any more would be overkill). This recipe does need salt- the extra salt on top before eating brightens the dish and really makes the flavors come through. It's even better after it sits a bit... the filling thickens more as it cools, and the flavors meld well. It assembles within 15 to 30 minutes, bakes quickly, and stores/reheats well. It's just good, simple, comforting stuff.
Ingredients:
- 1 package puff pastry, thawed
- 4 Tbs. unsalted butter
- 2 large leeks, white and light green portions, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup dry white wine (Note: If you wouldn't drink it from the glass, don't put it in your cooking. Use what you like!)
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 4 cups of your leftover Thanksgiving turkey, torn into pieces
- 1 cup baby peas
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 425ºF.
Prepare the Filling
Melt 4 tbs of butter in a large pan. Add the leeks, season with salt and pepper, and
sauté until softened (about 5 minutes - you'll notice they take on the most fantastic bright green color, too).
Add the flour to the pan and stir constantly for 2 minutes. After this, stir in the wine and broth and bring to a boil. Don't worry about lumps- if you keep stirring, the leeks will generally get coated with the flour, and it disperses pretty evenly when you pour in the wine and broth.
You will want to prevent too much of the flour from sticking to the bottom of the pan, though. After the liquid reaches a strong boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer. Stir the liquid occasionally until the liquid thickens enough to allow you to see the bottom of the pan when you scrape your spatula against it. This takes about 5 minutes.
Stir in the chicken and peas, and season with salt and pepper.
Pour it into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Smooth it until it's generally flat and even.
Top with Pastry and Bake
Unfold a sheet of puff pastry and lay it on top of the filling. You might need to piece together the rest of it, like I did (one sheet of puff pastry wasn't big enough). Bake for about 25 minutes, but check it after 20. The top should be golden brown, and the filling should be bubbling. Let the dish sit for 5 to 10 minutes to allow the filling to thicken. Have salt and pepper on hand for seasoning.
This would taste great served with cornbread muffins! Drink a white wine with it... kick back and embrace the comfort food!
