Minced Turkey Pie

I had titled this Turkey Mince pie but then realised you may be expecting a mince pie!! This is definitely not a mince pie more of a cottage pie with wrap around mash!

I saw a recipe on GREAT BRITISH CHEFS which gave me the inspo to try something very similar!

This is  great little pie with a neat trick of adding flour and egg to your mash to make it firmer so that it holds all of the filling inside and enables you to cut it just like a pie! It replaces pastry so it’s actually much healthier for your family and it’s a fun alternative to your more traditional cottage pie!

I used a turkey mince filling but this would work with a traditional bolognaise…or all sorts of filling to be fair! Some suggestions over on instgram when I first posted this were chicken and leek, beef and ale or sausages! Delicious I can’t wait to try some variations.

The original recipe is as above from Great British Chefs but i’ll pop my variation down here too for you.

I’ll start with the mash:

Simply mash 1 kg potatoes, I used a mix of sweet potato and maris piper. You could stick to just maris piper or perhaps add carrot or swede??

So start by boiling your potatoes until tender, drain and then mash with

• 1 heaped tbsp butter
• 2 eggs
• 200g flour
• Salt and pepper

Mix well and then leave aside.

Meanwhile make your Turkey mince filling:

Start by gently frying off half a leek with one diced onion until soft. Then add 2 garlic cloves, crushed.

Next put the onion mix to the side of the pan and add your Turkey mince. Break this up with a wooden spatula or spoon and brown…

Next in goes the carrots, then a chicken stock cube, oregano and mixed herbs and season…

Stir through and then after 5 mins add a tin of tomatoes, a glug of red wine and 1 tbsp of tomato puree together with 1 tbsp paprika..

Finally add a large handful of spinach…

..and then leave to simmer for 20 mins or so until the carrots are tender and the liquid has reduced a little..

Now it’s time to make the pie!

First grab yourself a spring form cake tin with a loose bottom! Butter all around the bottom and the sides and then lightly dust with flour. Make sure this goes all the way round the bottom and the sides.

Now all you need to do is add a good layer of your mash onto the bottom and then also around the sides. This will stop the mince filling from leaking out the sides when you remove the pie from the tin. The pic below was half done..make sure you go all the way up the sides!! Then add a handful of cheese…

..and now your filling. Use a slotted spoon so that the filling isn’t too wet.

Once you’ve layered with the mince simply top with another good layer or your mash potato…

Run a fork around the pie in a circular motion until you get to the centre and then add a handful of cheese.

Bake in the oven at 180C for 40 mins…

Very carefully undo the clip from your spring form cake tin and remove. Then finally run a spatula under the bottom to loosen and carefully transfer to a plate!

Enjoy with some greens!

So to recap here’s what you’ll need:

For the mash

• 1 kg potatoes – mix of sweet and maris piper
• 1 tbsp butter
• 200g plain flour
• 2 eggs
• salt and pepper

Turkey Mince filling:

• 750g turkey mince
• 1/2 leek – finely chopped
• 1 onion – diced
• 2 cloves of garlic – crushed
• 1 large carrot – diced
• 1 tin of tomatoes
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp mixed dried herbs
• 1 large glug of red wine
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• Grated cheese
• 1 large handful of spinach

 

What you need to do:

• Start by preheating the oven to 180C
• Peel and roughly chop your potatoes and place into a large saucepan of cold water with a generous pinch of salt. Lid on and boil until tender.
• Once cooked  drain and then mash with the remaining mash ingredients. Leave aside while you make the filling.
• For the filling start by gently softening your leek and onion in a large frying pan or saute pan.
• Once soft add your garlic and stir through.
• Next in go your carrots, your herbs and a stock cube. Stir through.
• Next add the tomato puree, paprika, tinned tomtatoes and then finally your spinach.
• Season well and allow to simmer for 20 mins or until the carrots are tender.
• Now it’s time to make your pie.
• Grease a spring form cake tin with butter all over the bottom and the sides and then dust all over with some flour.
• Next add a good layer of the mash potato mix onto the bottom and also up the sides.
• Now add a handful of grated cheese before adding your turkey mince filling. Use a slotted spoon so the mixture isn’t too wet.
• Finally add another layer of the mash mixture and a handful of cheese over the top to finish.
• Place in the oven for 40 minutes.
• Once cooked allow to cool for 5 minutes and then carefully remove the sides of the cake tin. You may want to leave the bottom of the cake tin where it is a slice or you can try very carefully to remove the bottom..
• Enjoy with some greens! We had broccoli but some good old peas would be good too or a simple salad!

xx