Turkey Pot Pie Recipe

I hope everyone has had a lovely Thanksgiving! We ate until we were fit to burst, and of course, I had too big a turkey, so there are plenty of leftovers.

Because you asked, here is my very inexact recipe for turkey pot pie. Really, it’s just using up leftovers. It works equally well with chicken.

I had plenty of leftover turkey meat from Thanksgiving that had been cut off the bone, and also some gravy. I cut up the turkey, and put it aside in the leftover gravy with a splash of chicken broth (I always have chicken broth around, see my post on making stock).

Then, in a saucepan, I made a roux: About a tablespoon of butter, melted, then worked in as much flour as I could over low heat. Let it cook, while whisking, until it colors up a bit.

Then I added milk (about a cup) while whisking, and brought up the heat to just under boiling to thicken the milk. Then I added the turkey, gravy, and almost a full bag of frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, peas, green beans, and corn). I put a lid on that and let it all warm through on low while I made the pie crust.

My recipe for a single-crust savory pie crust is: 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/4 teasp salt, 9 tablespoons butter, and 3 tablespoons ice water. Combine flour and salt, cut in butter (or even better, use a food processor, it only takes 20-30 seconds), drizzle ice water and mix just until it comes together. Refrigerate for a few minutes and roll out the dough. You can also use a store-bought crust (but the food processor method is pretty darned quick).

I put the turkey mixture in a deep-dish ten-inch pie plate, covered it with the crust, and pierced to vent. Bake in a 400 oven for 20-30 minutes or until the crust is cooked.

This can also be frozen (bakes for 45 -60 minutes frozen); if you have extra ingredients, it’s easy to make two and freeze one. It’s a forgiving recipe — always yummy with whatever changes I’ve made to it.