One of my most favourite and comforting dinners, is Ham and Leek Pie. It is just a wonderfully wholesome and tasty dinner that will be a hit with whoever is at your dining table.
The beauty of this pie is that it can be made with some many variations while the basis of cooking remains the same e.g. Chicken & Ham Pie, Chicken & Mushroom Pie, Beef and Mushroom Pie etc..
Whilst, in my own personal opinion, you won’t beat the delicious flavour of a puff crust pastry top, you can of course substitute it for a potato mash topping or even sweet potato mash topping if you prefer!
I hope you enjoy the pie as much as I do xx.
Ingredients:
3 leeks (sliced)
2 onions (diced)
2 veg/pork stock cubes in 500mls warm water
4 tables spoons of creme fraiche
2 table spoons of cream flour
1 teaspoon of sage
1 tea spoon of mustard
500grams cooked ham
JusRoll puff pastry
1 egg to egg wash the pastry
Method:
- Using a large pan, melt some butter and add the leeks and the onions. Cook on a medium heat for at least 15 minutes or until the leeks are quite soft. The leeks need to be cooked really well as you want a melt in your mouth texture in the pie.
- Add the pork/veg stock cubes in the 400mls of warm water to the pan and then stir in 4 table spoons of creme fraiche. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Stir in 2 table spoons of cream flour to thicken. Keep stirring to avoid the flour going lumpy in the pan.
- At this point, if your mixture is too thick, add water – if to thin, add flour. It should be a nice creamy texture.
- Add 1 teaspoon of sage and 1 teaspoon of mustard
- Keep the mixture on simmer in your pan and keep stirring it
- Add in the cooked ham – this should be in chunks (N.B. before boiling the ham, ensure that you soak it for 6 hours in cold water and then change the water before you boil it to remove the salt – otherwise, the ham will be too salty and will over power the dish).
- You now transfer your mixture into your dishes – either individual pie dishes or a large baking dish for a family – personally, I prefer the smaller ones as you can cook those to order and keep them in the fridge until needed.
- Once the mixture has cooled in the dish you can begin rolling out your puff pastry on a floured work surface.
- Cover your pie with the pastry and ensure there is enough at all sides to avoid the mixture spilling out over the edges
- Beat your egg and using your cooking brush, cover the pastry with the egg so that you get a rich golden colour during cooking.
- Put your dish into the oven at 160 degrees and cook for 35-40 minutes (ensure your pastry has risen and is a rich golden colour so that the pastry is cooked through.
- Serve with your favourite side (veg, salad, fries) and enjoy.
