Turkey pot pie

I cooked a huge turkey a couple of days ago and of course my fridge was taken over with a carcass and leftovers. I've never tried to make a pot pie before but  I found a great recipe and off I went. I was concerned with the crust but it came beautiful, looking and feeling almost like puff pastry, but way easier to make. The author of the book explains that the combination of butter and white vegetable fat is what makes the difference with shortcrust pastry, giving it a nice crumbly texture and indeed, the texture was fantastic. The original recipe called for porcini mushrooms and chicken, but my problem was turkey and I did not have any porcini mushrooms; in the middle of a blizzard, I was not about to drive to the store, so I altered the original recipe from "Greatest-ever pastry cookbook" by Catherine Atkinson .

Ingredients: (serves 6)

* 1 cup of mushrooms cut in slices (or 1/4 cup of porcini mushrooms and 3/4 cup of white button mushrooms cut into quarters)

* 1/4 cup of butter

* 2 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour

* 1 1/2 cup hot chicken stock

* 4 tablespoons light cream

* 1 onion finely chopped

* 2 carrots, sliced

* 2 celery sticks, chopped

* 1 pound of cooked turkey, cubed (or chicken)

* 1/2 cup frozen or fresh peas

* 1 teaspoon rosemary

* 1/2 teaspoon thyme

* 1/2 tablespoon of Porcini mushrooms and truffle infused oil

* Salt

* Ground black pepper

* Beaten egg (to glaze)

For the pastry

* 2 cups all purpose flour

* 1/4 tablespoon salt

* 1/2 cup cold butter, diced

* 1/3 cup white vegetable fat, diced

* 4-8 tablespoons chilled water

To make the pastry, sift the flour and the salt into a bowl. Add the diced butter and vegetable fat and rub it in with your fingers until the mixture looks like bread crumbs. I have tried to mix the butter with a mixer and other tools, and the best way is with your hands. Wash them good, brush those nails, roll your sleeves and feel the dough in your hands, get to know it. It feels like a friend after a while :) . Then, add 6 tablespoons of chilled water (it really needs to be chilled to hold the dough) and keep on working the mix until the dough holds together. If it does, add a little bit more of chilled water, one tablespoon at a time and no more than 8. I had more than enough with 6. Make a ball with the dough, then flatten it round, wrap it and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, do not hurry, you work better the dough when it is cold. 

If you were to use porcini mushrooms cover them with hot water in a bowl and let them soak for 30 minutes. Drain in a cheesecloth lined strainer and dry well on kitchen paper. 

Start heating the oven at 375° F. Melt half of the butter in a heavy pan; whisk the flour and cook until bubbling, whisking constantly. Add the chicken stock and whisk over medium heat until the mixture boils. Cook for 2-3 minutes, whisk in the cream, add salt and pepper and set aside for the moment.

Heat the remaining butter in a deep frying pan, cook the onions and carrots over  a low heat for 5 minutes. Then it is the turn for the celery,  and mushrooms, cook 5 minutes more (if you are using porcini and button mushrooms you will only add the button mushrooms at this point). Then we add the rest: turkey, peas, rosemary, thyme, porcini and truffle oil (and if you were using the porcini mushrooms, you would add those now). Add the creamy sauce we prepared before and stir all together. Check for salt and pepper. Spoon the mixture into a 2 1/2 quart oval baking dish (2.5 liter). 

Roll out the pastry to about 1/8 inch. Cut an oval 1 inch larger all around than the dish. Lay the pastry over the filling. Press around the edges to seal, trim the excess. Seal the edges pushing your forefinger into the pastry edge and pinching the pastry with the other hand. If you have the time and inclination, you can cut decorations with the leftover pastry trimmings (mushrooms, leaves...) and stick them to the pastry lid with beaten egg. Glaze the lid and decorations with beaten egg, cut some slits in the pastry to allow the steam to escape and bake the pie for about 30 minutes, until it looks nice and brown. 

Preparation time: 2 hours with prep