Knowing what to do with leftover Christmas dinner ingredients can be a chore in itself which is why pie is a great solution.
Almost any combination of fillings will work inside the savoury pastry casing, particularly meat, vegetables and stuffing.
Teamed with a few cupboard staples, the foods can be transformed into something quite flavoursome that don’t resemble a festive feast, according to Jamie Oliver.
Sharing the recipe on his website, Jamie claimed: “I like to call this my Christmas hodgepodge pie.
“A glorious mixture of all those lovely roast dinner leftovers, enveloped in a smooth, silky sauce and hugged by beautifully crumbly pastry.”
Jamie Oliver’s “hodgepodge pie” recipe
Start by making the pastry by putting the flour and one teaspoon of sea salt into a bowl, then cube and add the butter. Rub the ingredients together between the thumbs and forefingers until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Beat the egg, then stir into the bowl along with three to four tablespoons of ice-cold water. Use your hands to gently bring everything together into a ball, but don’t overwork it.
Divide the dough into two pieces and flatten each into a circle (for the top and bottom of the pie), then wrap in greaseproof paper and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Finely chop the bacon, then place in a large non-stick frying pan on medium heat with the butter and one tablespoon of olive oil (or turkey fat, if there’s any leftover). Pick, roughly chop and add the rosemary, then cook for three minutes.
Wash, trim and roughly chop the white part of the leeks, thickly slice the mushrooms, then add to the pan. Season with a pinch of sea salt and black pepper, then cook for 10 minutes, or until soft and caramelised, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the mustard, then the flour, and pour in the stock – any leftover turkey gravy will add great bonus flavour here, too, according to Jamie.
Bring everything in the pan to the boil and simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes on a medium-low heat, then turn off the heat and add the crème fraîche. At this stage, the contents of the pan can be left chunky or use a stick blender to whiz it to a smoother consistency.
Once cold, set aside half of the sauce to serve, then tear up the turkey meat and stir it into the pan, adding some stuffing, if you’ve got it. Lastly, finely slice and stir in the Brussels sprouts.
Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/gas 3 and grease the bottom of a round 30cm pie dish with a little oil. Roll out half the pastry on a clean flour-dusted surface to half a centimetre thick and use it to line the pie dish, then tip in the turkey pie filling. Dollop the cranberry sauce on top. Beat the egg, then use it to brush the edges.
Roll out the remaining pastry to half a centimetre thick again, and a little wider than the pie dish. Use a selection of cutters to cut out shapes in the middle, and set aside.
Carefully place the pastry left behind on top of the pie dish and brush with beaten egg, then place the reserved pastry shapes on top, filling any gaps. Trim off any pastry, then roll out again and cut out more shapes, until all the gaps are filled. Brush the top with the beaten egg, and press a fork around the edges to seal.
Bake at the bottom of the oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the filling is piping hot.
When you’re nearly ready to serve, reheat the remaining sauce until piping hot, then take it to the table alongside the pie.
