turkey pot pie

am i the only one who might have still had some shredded turkey in my freezer leftover from the holidays?

or just the only one who would admit it?

i don’t care. i love discovering it and realizing it’s potential to become my most favorite, favorite thing to eat in the winter….. turkey. pot. pie.

my love for turkey pot pie began when i was small, when my mom would use up leftover turkey meat in her frugal, awesome way. some of the common reincarnations would be turkey curry over rice, turkey enchiladas, turkey noodle soup, of course — but oh the pot pie nights were really sent from heaven above. i loved the built-in gravy, the pie crust that tasted like i was eating dessert for dinner, and the tender turkey, herbed and fragrant with carrots and onions. (when i grew up, i tried those frozen Banquet pot pies, because they were 42 cents and i was hungry and broke. they are not terrible… but are always followed by a powerful thirst.)

pot pie is wonderful and pot pie becomes what you want it to become. if you like a fluffier, biscuit-like topping, you should do that. if you want it under a pie crust, buttery and flaky, you should do that. if you’re like me, you’ll only have crust on top — but you might want it on the top and the bottom of your pie. you might put mushrooms in the filling. you might make a gravy filling, or maybe a creamy filling. my version here is the best of all these things!…. if you’re wondering how that is possible, the secret is an ancient recipe called English Meat Pie Pastry… both flaky/buttery and soft/biscuity. it’s difficult to explain but it’s gorgeous and delicious. i am totally behind the English on this. and my Grandma, who forbade me to make meat pies with any other crust.

can’t argue that.

adapted from America’s Test Kitchen

this recipe makes one giant 9 x 13 pot pie with a hearty crust on top to feed a crowd — or a smaller 2-quart baking dish pie and four small individual pies.

adding the small amount of cream gives this pie a wonderful richness, but omitting the cream and swapping the butter for olive oil makes this dish dairy-free.

• 3 tablespoons butter or olive oil
• 3 medium carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 2 celery stalks, washed and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1/2 pound mushrooms (any variety), washed of loose dirt and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• minced fresh thyme (about 2 teaspoons) or a sprinkle of dried thyme
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup heavy cream (optional)
• 2 dried or fresh bay leaves
• 3 cups leftover shredded or chopped turkey meat
• 1 cup frozen peas (not thawed)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• english meat pie pastry (recipe below)

heat the butter or olive oil in a big heavy pot over medium heat. add carrots, celery, onion, mushrooms and a sprinkling of salt; cook 6 – 7 minutes, until softened. add the garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. add the flour and stir.

slowly whisk in the wine, scraping the bottom of the pot; then add broth, cream (if desired) and bay leaves. simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. add the chicken and cook until heated through, 6 – 7 minutes more. remove from heat, discard bay leaves and stir in frozen peas and parsley.

pour into your baking vessel(s) of choice.

to bake, roll out the pastry to fit the top(s), and press gently to seal edges against baking dish. slice a few vents in the pastry to allow steam to escape. bake in a 425-degree oven for 20 – 30 minutes, until bubbling and the crust is golden brown.

to freeze, allow filling to cool, then top with pastry, slicing a few steam vents. cover tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. bake un-thawed at 425 for 45-60 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

english meat pie pastry

i always find mixing hot water with shortening a little odd and awkward… but this works better than it sounds like it will!

sift together 2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. in a medium bowl, add 1/2 cup hot water to 2/3 cup shortening; stir. add 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 egg yolk. mix these together the best you can, then add to the flour mixture. when dough has come together, pat into a disc and chill, about 2 hours until cold.

ginger scallion noodles and fridge pickles

i’m a total noodle-lush! one of the people best at noodles in the world is David Chang and his empire of Momofuku restaurants, centered on noodles, pork and pickles (the ingredients to a happy life!).  glorious noodles can be dressed in so many ways!… one of my favorites, ramen, is above my skill level (and access to ingredients…), but i love Chang’s cookbook and decided to try his obsessed-over ginger-scallion sauce. simple, familiar ingredients; easy and super-quick prep. he puts it on noodles, rice, meats, seafood… from reading, i couldn’t tell how it would taste. i had to make it!

oh man, so good! cheap, easy and vegetarian! right up our new-year’s-resolution alley. people like me who work all day, who love noodles, and who want an awesome dinner when they get home kiiiiind of owe it to themselves to make this delightful green treat. and then to serve it in whatever way they please! my interpretation follows.

so i made an egg dish the other night for dinner that had all these leeks, scallions and tons of red chard cooked together and i decided not to be wasteful with the chard stems, so i pickled them. they turned juicy and tangy, red like stalks of rhubarb, but sweet and spicy! yes! and i pickled some radishes that i had on hand, because those are one of my favorite pickled things to eat at Momofuku (although this sugary brine was completely new to me, and i loved it!). oh man these fridge pickles are tasty. there’s just a smidge of Sriracha hot sauce in the brine — epic! and so easy! it’s not even cooking! combine and refrigerate. — in fact, same goes for the ginger scallion sauce. revolutionary, a bit, isnt it……. not-cooking. i’m all about it! Chang’s recipe for eating ginger scallion sauce suggests serving it on noodles with pickled cucumber; i subbed these pink, pickly babies.

i was looking at the sad selection of Chinese noodles at my supermarket, and realized that i don’t hate the noodles that come in the instant ramen packets (neither does Chang, i hear), and i could get 8 of them for a third of the price of a block of “Chinese” noodles. so i went that route. you can use whatever noodles you prefer (remember, we’re not using the flavoring packets here). i rather like the elevation of cheap, instant food to something really tasty.

get ready to get noodle-y! this sauce rules. from his reaction, i think it was one of my husband’s favorite things i’ve ever cooked. gingery noodles, stir-fried, blazin hot mushrooms, cool, tangy pickles, and a shard of nori that tastes like ocean air — i’m serious! WINNER.

ginger scallion almost-instant noodles

serves 2, generously

• 3 packs instant ramen noodles, flavor packets discarded
• 1/2 cup ginger scallion sauce (recipe below)
• 1/2 lb mushrooms of your preference, stemmed and sliced
• 1 Tbsp grapeseed oil
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
• fridge pickles (recipe below)
• nori (thin, dried seaweed sheets; look in the Asian aisle of your supermarket)
• Sriracha and soy sauce as condiments

heat a wok over medium-high heat with the grapeseed oil (if you don’t have a wok, a large non-stick skillet will work). let it get smokin’ hot. grapeseed oil has a higher smokepoint than many oils, but if you use vegetable oil, wait until it just begins to smoke. throw in the mushrooms and stir-fry until nice and brown. leave the heat up high the whole time. somewhere in the middle of cooking, add the soy sauce and vinegar. when browned, the mushrooms will release their liquid — keep it, it’s delicious! set pan aside.

meanwhile, cook those instant noodles in some boiling water (they don’t take long!). dollop about 1/4 cup ginger scallion sauce each in the bottom of two bowls; divide piping-hot noodles over the top. toss with tongs to combine. top with stir-fried mushrooms and their liquids, pickles, and nori. top with extra Sriracha!

ginger-scallion sauce

from Momofuku, by David Chang

• 2 1⁄2 cups thinly sliced scallions (greens and whites; from 1 to 2 large bunches)
• 1⁄2 cup peeled, grated fresh ginger root
• 1⁄4 cup grapeseed or other neutral oil (if you don’t have grapeseed, use vegtable)
• 11⁄2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 3⁄4 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 3⁄4 teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste

combine; transfer to an air-tight container and let sit in the fridge for at least 15 minutes for the flavors to marry. it will keep for up to few days in the fridge, though with time the ginger can become a little bitter.

sriracha fridge pickles

adapted from Bon Appetit

• 1 cup distilled white vinegar
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons Sriracha
• 1 Tbsp coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
• 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
• red chard stems, chopped
• 1 bunch radishes, trimmed and halved

in a bowl, stir first five ingredients until sugar is dissolved. layer chard stems, onions and then radishes in a non-reactive container. top with brine. cover and refrigerate overnight.

leftovers rating: A+

if you happen to have leftover noodles, they are DELICIOUS cold. we didn’t have leftovers, but i know they’re great cold because this morning i cooked a packet of noodles before i left for work, tossed the hot noodles with the ginger scallion sauce, and stowed it in the fridge for my lunch. it was great! i might almost like it better cold. i was out of mushrooms, but included nori (packed separately), pickled chard, and a zip of Sriracha. yum. the pickles get better with age as well!