Hairy Bikers' turkey and ham pie recipe

This turkey and ham pie is a handsome buffet pie with a gorgeous red cranberry and kumquat topping. 

The Hairy Biker’s turkey and ham pie is served cold so it makes a great buffet lunch option. On those days after Christmas when you just want things in the fridge you can help yourself to quickly, it’s a great standby. "This is a fantastic, well-packed turkey and ham pie that’s best eaten cold with some salad and crisps. We use a 23cm spring form cake tin when we’re making this and it works really well," adds the Hairy Bikers. You don’t have to save it just for Christmas either. If you froze your festive meat leftovers you could make this in the new year. Take a slice to work in your lunchbox.

Ingredients

For the pastry:

• 450g plain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 60g cold butter, cut into cubes
• 60g cold lard, cut into cubes

For the cranberry topping: 

• 500g fresh cranberries
• 250g kumquats, sliced thinly
• 250g caster sugar
• 6 allspice berries
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 tbsp port
• 2 gelatine leaves

For the filling:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 leek, chopped
• 2 small sticks of celery, chopped
• 1 heaped tsp flour
• 100ml chicken or turkey stock
• 3 tbsp double cream
• ½ tsp English mustard powder
• Good handful of curly parsley, chopped
• 350g cooked gammon, cut into chunks
• 500g cooked turkey, dark and light meat, in large pieces
• Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. First make the pastry. Put the flour in a food processor with the baking powder and salt. Add the butter and lard and blitz to crumbs. Add about 140ml of water, a little at a time, and process until a ball of pastry forms. Wrap the pastry in clingfilm and leave it to chill in the fridge.
2. Next make the cranberry topping. Bring 150ml of water to the boil. Add the cranberries and kumquats and simmer them for 10 minutes until they have broken down. Add the sugar, allspice and the cinnamon stick. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Add the port and bring back to the boil for a couple of minutes, then remove the pan from the heat. Place the gelatine in a bowl of cold water for about 3 minutes to swell and soften. Drain and stir the softened gelatine into the cranberry sauce. Leave to cool, then place in the fridge to set.
3. Next bake the pastry case blind. Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas 3. Line a 23cm springform cake tin with silicone baking paper. Roll the pastry out and line the tin, leaving the pastry hanging over the edge for trimming later. Cover the pastry with a piece of baking parchment and fill with baking beans. Bake in the preheated oven for 15–20 minutes until cooked, then remove the beans and paper and trim the pastry neatly. Set the pastry case aside to cool.
4. Now make the filling. Put the oil and butter in a large frying pan, add the onion, leek and celery and sweat for about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour, then add the stock and cook until thickened. Add the cream, mustard powder and parsley, then fold in the gammon and turkey. Season to taste – use lots of pepper but go carefully with the salt, as your gammon may be salty. Pack the filling into the pastry case and put the pie in the oven for 15 minutes at 170ºC/325°F/Gas 3 for the flavours to bake together. Remove and leave to cool for a while, then spread on the cranberry topping. The heat from the pie will melt the jelly slightly, which helps it settle into the pie. Leave the pie to cool completely and serve cold.

Top tips for making The Hairy Bikers' turkey and ham pie

What are kumquats and where can I buy them?

Kumquats are small citrus fruits, originally from Asia. They look like oval oranges but they’re only the size of a large olive. You eat them whole - skin and all. The skin is actually sweeter than the tangy fruit inside. 

What can I use as a substitute for kumquats?

If you can’t find any, don’t worry, you can just use more cranberries instead. To get the citrus kick, add a good squeeze of orange juice to the topping at the same time as the sugar, and the zest of the orange at the same time as the port.

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