Delia Smith Turkey Pie with Leeks and Cheese

There’s no pastry lid on Delia Smith’s turkey pie, because the leftover-turkey bake she makes is an open flan of leeks, sliced turkey and a cheese sauce. Gently softened leeks and the cold meat go into a frozen shortcrust case under a sauce seasoned with nutmeg, then it bakes for 35 to 40 minutes. It feeds 6 to 8.

Her holiday plan in Delia’s Happy Christmas (2009) puts it on the lunch table on 30 December, with a watercress salad alongside. Any cooked turkey, chicken or ham will do, and any cheese you have left.

The clever part is the pastry case. She would rather not be rolling out pastry in the days after Christmas, so she lines the tin before Christmas and keeps it in the freezer, and a frozen case bakes up crisper than one straight from the fridge.

Delia Smith’s Turkey Flan with Leeks and Cheese

Recipe by Anne Morgan

0.0 from 0 votes

Course: Main CourseCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

55

minutes

Calories

540

kcal

Crisp pastry, soft leeks and a golden, bubbling cheese top, with the turkey tucked in between. Page 276 of her Christmas book.

Ingredients

• For the pastry case:

• a 25cm quiche or flan tin lined with 300g shortcrust pastry, frozen

• For the filling:

• 275-350g cooked turkey, thinly sliced and cut into pieces of about 5cm

• 450g leeks, washed thoroughly and sliced

• 75g cheese, grated

• 1 egg, beaten

• 25g Parmesan, freshly grated

• 40g butter, plus 1 extra teaspoon

• 425ml milk

• 25g plain flour

• whole nutmeg, for grating

• a pinch of cayenne pepper

• salt and freshly milled black pepper

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Directions

• Heat the oven: Preheat it to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas mark 6, with a heavy baking sheet inside to heat up.
• Soften the leeks: Melt the teaspoon of butter in a frying pan, then add the leeks and a little salt. Cover and cook them gently over a lowish heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until they release some juice, then tip them into a sieve over a bowl and keep the juice.
• Make the sauce: Put the 40g of butter, the milk and the flour in a saucepan and bring to the boil, whisking all the time, until smooth and thick. Season with salt, pepper and a little grated nutmeg, then let it simmer gently for 5 minutes.
• Fill the case: Spread the leeks over the frozen pastry base and lay the turkey on top.
• Finish the sauce: Stir the leek juice, grated cheese and beaten egg into the sauce, then pour it evenly over the filling. Scatter over the Parmesan and a light dusting of cayenne.
• Bake: Put the flan on the hot baking sheet on the centre shelf, turn the oven down to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas mark 4, and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

Notes

• Leeks hold grit between their layers, so wash the slices well in a colander before they go in the pan.
• The fan temperatures are my own conversion, as she gives conventional and gas only.

FAQs

Does Delia make a turkey pie with a lid?

Not with turkey, but her closest is the chicken and leek pot pie in The Delia Collection: Chicken (2003). Chicken breasts, leeks and carrots are poached in 275ml of dry cider, folded into a cheese sauce and covered with a 23cm round of puff pastry, then baked for 20 minutes at 200°C.

It serves 2 in a small dish. With leftover turkey I’d skip the poaching, simmer the leeks and carrots in the cider alone and add the cooked meat with the sauce, which is my own change.

What are Delia’s turkey feuilletés?

Puff pastry parcels with a creamy filling. Her website has a turkey version, and the chicken feuilletés in The Delia Collection: Chicken show how they’re made, with chicken, crisp streaky bacon, chestnut mushrooms and a little crème fraîche simmered for 30 minutes and chilled.

Rolled puff pastry is cut into four 18cm squares, the filling goes in the middle and the corners are pulled up into envelopes. The filling can be made well ahead, which suits the days after Christmas.

Can I use ready-made pastry cases?

Yes, she suggests buying two ready-prepared fresh pastry cases and freezing them, and the filling is just the right amount for the pair. Bake them straight from the freezer, just like the homemade case.

What’s the difference between a flan and a quiche?

A quiche is set with an egg custard, while this flan bakes a thick white sauce with only one egg stirred through it, so I find it cuts in neat slices with a softer, creamier middle. Her recipe asks for a quiche or flan tin, so either kind of tin works.