Boxing Day Turkey & Ham Pie

Enjoy a slice of this celebration pie!

INGREDIENTS (Serves 10)

◆ 450g plain flour

◆ 2tsp salt

◆ 100g lard or white vegetable fat (Trex)

◆ 210ml water

◆ 400g turkey breast steaks, cut into small cubes

◆ 400g unsmoked gammon, cut into small cubes

◆ 400g pork sausagemeat

◆ 2tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

◆ 1tbsp chopped fresh parsley

◆ ½tsp ground allspice

◆ Salt and freshly ground black pepper

◆ 100g ready-to-eat dried apricots, chopped

◆ 50g dried cranberries

◆ Beaten egg, to glaze

◆ 150ml chicken stock

◆ 2tsp powdered gelatine

1 Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle. Gently heat the lard or vegetable fat with the water in a saucepan until melted, then bring to the boil. Pour into the well and beat with a wooden spoon to form a soft dough. Cool a little, then knead until smooth.

Cover and rest for 20min.

2 Meanwhile, mix together the turkey, gammon, half the sausagemeat, rosemar y, parsley and allspice. Season well. In a separate bowl, mix together the apricots, cranberries and remaining sausagemeat.

3 Preheat the oven to 220°C/fan oven 200°C/ Gas Mark 7.

4 Roll out three-quar ters of the pastr y on a lightly floured sur face and use it to line the base and sides of a 20cm loose-based cake tin. Pack in half the turkey filling and level the sur face. Top with the apricot mixture, then pack in the remaining turkey filling. Trim the excess pastr y, leaving a border of about 1cm. Dampen this with a little water.

5 Roll out the rest of the pastr y and cut out a 20cm circle. Position it on top of the pie, pinch the edges together and make a hole in the centre. Use the pastr y trimmings to create leaves and arrange on top of the pie. Brush the sur face with beaten egg. Stand the tin on a baking sheet. Bake for 20min, then reduce the temperature to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/Gas Mark 4 to bake for 1hr 30min. Cool completely (this will take a few hours).

6 Heat the stock until almost boiling, then sprinkle in the gelatine, stirring until dissolved.

Cool for 10min, then pour carefully through the hole in the pie lid (you may not need all of it). Chill for 2-3 hours to set the gelatine.

7 Freeze the whole pie, packed in a freezer box and freeze for up to 2 months. Alternatively, cut the pie into slices and wrap individually in small freezer bags. Allow 2 days for the whole pie to thaw in the refrigerator. Slices will take just 1-2 hours at room temperature.

If the top of the pie looks too brown as it bakes, cover it with double-thickness greaseproof paper.