Easy Leftover Turkey Chestnut and Cranberry Pie Recipe
Home » COOK »With less than a week to go to the big Christmas day dinner, I am also thinking about the meals I can make with all the lovely leftovers! Let’s be honest, most of us overspend and prepare too much food for Christmas, and invariably there are lots of tidbits leftover which can be turned into meals for days afterwards! One of our favourite foodie parts of Christmas is the leftover turkey!
I love making this turkey and sweet leek pie, but this year I’m giving it a twist turning it into a Leftover Turkey Chestnut and Cranberry Pie!
Leftover Turkey Chestnut and Cranberry Pie
Since this pie is all about leftover turkey, how much you put in, and what you put into your pie is up to you! I used some chestnuts (from some baking I had done), some dried cranberries (ditto) and tossed in some fresh ones too that I’ve bought to make cranberry sauce. Bacon wrapped sausages are often leftover from Christmas dinner, so they went in too! I had some filo pastry in the freezer, so used that, but this could work with any kind of pastry you like – puff or shortcrust! Similarly, use whichever your favourite herbs are (I personally used rosemary as it’s my favourite!) but thyme and sage would work equally as well.
Leftover Turkey, Chestnut & Cranberry Pie
I often start most dishes in my kitchen with onion and garlic, but this one has leeks instead. Halved lengthways and cleaned of soil before slicing. The leeks then get sweated gently for 20 minutes in some oil and butter (it is Christmas!) with salt, pepper and your favourite herb.
I then added a large handful of fresh cranberries and cooked for a further 10 minutes or so until they start to squish down.
I chopped up cooked leftover turkey, as well as sausages wrapped in bacon, into bite sized pieces and they got thrown into the pot, along with a few chopped chestnuts and some dried cranberries.
With all the pie filling ingredients in the pot, it’s time to make a gravy. I do this by adding a spoonful of flour and some chicken stock to the saucepan and giving everything a stir together and bringing to the boil to thicken.
I then strain the filling through a sieve – reserving the sauce. This means I’m left with a lush gravy to pour over the pie, and also, the pie doesn’t get too soggy either!
I lined my pie dish with sheets of filo pastry, which had been brushed with olive oil in between each layer. I then tipped all of the leftover turkey pie mixture in the the dish, packing in firmly. I topped off with more sheets of filo and a final brushing of oil. I kind of tuck the pastry into the sides, because I’m lazy and can’t be faffed with cutting things off to make it neat (plus it’s a waste of perfectly good pastry!!)
The pie gets baked in the oven – around 400°F/200C /Gas 6 – for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is cooked and golden. And that’s it—one leftover turkey, chestnut, and cranberry pie ready for eating!
It’s so filling you don’t really need to eat anything on the side. If you wanted, you could toss some chopped roasted potatoes into the pie filling, too.
Leftover Turkey, Chestnut and Cranberry Pie
It’s your Leftover Turkey, Chestnut, and Cranberry Pie, so use any quantity of the various filling ingredients you have on hand. I’ve given weights and measures, but this recipe is more of a guide!
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- Knob of butter
- 2-3 leeks, halved lengthwise and sliced thinly
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1–2 tsps dried rosemary (or your favourite herb)
- 100g (4 oz) fresh cranberries
- 450g (1 lb) leftover turkey, cut into bite size pieces
- 100g (4 oz) leftover bacon wrapped sausages, cut into bite size pieces
- 100g (4 oz) sweet chestnuts, chopped
- 50g (2 oz) dried cranberries
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 500ml (2 cups) chicken stock
- 10 sheets filo pastry
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 400°F/200°C/Gas 6
- Put some olive oil and butter into a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the leeks and cook for a few minutes before seasoning with salt, pepper, and herbs.
- Turn the heat down and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring every now and then.
- Add the fresh cranberries and cook for a further 10 minutes.
- Add the leftover turkey, bacon-wrapped sausages, chestnuts, and dried cranberries, and stir everything to combine.
- Add the flour and mix well to coat everything, then add the chicken stock.
- Bring the stock to a boil, and check your seasoning, adding more if desired.
- Strain the mixture through a sieve and catch the sauce in another pan. Reserve this to use as the gravy when serving.
- Line a 9x13" casserole dish with four or five sheets of filo pastry, brushing with a little oil between each layer.
- Transfer the pie filling to the dish and then cover with the rest of the pastry, again brushing with a little oil between each layer.
- Brush the top layer of pastry with oil and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the pastry is golden.
- Serve with the reserved gravy (which will need heating up) and enjoy!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 699Total Fat: 37gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 91mgSodium: 802mgCarbohydrates: 77gFiber: 7gSugar: 25gProtein: 16g
This site uses Nutritionix to provide estimated nutrition. Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.
The Create the Holidays series on The Purple Pumpkin Blog features free printables, crafts, recipes, and more for Christmas and the Winter Holidays. Check out Create the Holidays (formerly Create Christmas) from 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, and 2012.