Leftovers Pie ...
January 24, 2006 at 6:29 PM
by Ashleigh
Or what to do with your leftover pork joint ...
Way back in time, when I posted the recipe for Roast Pork a la Boulangere, I promised to post a followup in the form of what to do with the leftovers. Alas, I did not, and seeing as I've had a few google hits from 'leftover pork joint' (I kid you not!) and now one of my readers commented that she'll be making that recipe today, now is the time!
Again, this recipe is from the esteemed Mr Carrier and he says 'this recipe is so good you will want to save some of your roast joint to make it the next day'. In the recipe he specifies lamb or beef, but over-run as we are in Holland with pork, I tried it with leftover roast pork and it works pretty well! Make sure it's lean meat though or your pie may turn out too fatty.
You need:
5 tablespoons butter/margarine/vloeibare margarine (I use quite a bit less, use how much you think you need and adjust the flour accordingly)
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped (I leave this out, no-one here likes celery)
4 tablespoons flour (again, adjust according to how much butter/margarine/vloiebare margarine you used)
1 pint (250 ml) thin gravy or stock (from a cube will do)
350g cooked cold beef or lamb (or pork), cut into cubes
350g mixed cooked vegetables (I use a mix of carrots and peas and microwave them up from frozen just before making this recipe)
2 - 3 tablespoons dry red wine
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
salt and freshly ground black pepper
175g basic savoury shortcrust pastry (you can cheat here and use bought pastry - for those in Holland, those bladerdeeg sheets work ok)
And then:
- Preheat your oven to moderately hot (400F, 200C).
- Melt butter in a medium sized saucepan. Saute onion and celery over moderate heat for five minutes. Stir in flour and continue to cook the roux for a further 10 - 15 minutes until it has turned a deep golden colour. (Its important to make sure its nicely coloured, don't stop when the flour is still white).
- Gradually add the gravy or stock, stirring quickly. Simmer for a further ten minutes, uncovered, then add meat and vegetables. Stir in wine, Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce, and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. The key here is to have a thick gravy encasing the vegetable and meat mixture. If your sauce hasn't thickened enough cook it a little longer to reduce it or use one of your favourite methods to thicken it out./li>
- Pour mixture into a 1 litre pie dish (any nice flat dish will work,but make sure that it can't overflow and that there is enough space to leave a decent gap between filling and pastry). Cover and leave to one side whilst preparing pastry. If you're using bought pastry you can just carry on from here without covering and leaving to one side ;)
- Roll out pastry to an oblong, 2 inches (5 cm) larger than the top of the pie dish. Cut off a 1/2 inch (1 cm) wide strip from around edge of pastry.
- Brush rim of pie dish with water and press the pastry strip around the rim; brush with water again.
- Lift remaining pastry over the rolling pin, place in position over the pie. Lightly press the edges together and trim off the excess pastry around the edge of the pie. Pinch to seal well and decorate with cut outs of left over pastry - I like to make flowers and that kind of thing ;). Brush all over with beaten egg or milk to glaze.
- Don't forget to make a steam hole in the centre of the lid. Place pie on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 30 - 40 minutes or until nice and golden.
Note for Dutch readers - if you use the bladerdeeg sheets you can just position them so that they overlap. I use a square pyrex dish when I use bought pastry for precisely this reason. I can balance four sheets over the pie with a fifth over the center. I then press down the outside edges but leave the centre one fairly loose - alleviates the need for an airhole. I then brush the pie with milk and bake.
Just want to stay what a fabulous recipe for leftovers. I had leg of pork, and follwed everything in the recipe, except for - oh dear, no red wine handy. I used the only other thing I had left which was a fine old port. Yes port! It was delicious. Well done to Ashleigh for providing me with a great alternative to lefover casserole!
Kind Regards,
Cindy
February 13, 2008 2:03 PM