If you use leftover cooked chicken, vegetables and gravy from a roast dinner or Xmas dinner and a shop bought ready-rolled puff pastry, you can whip up one of these tasty pot pies in a trice. You could make the filling from scratch of course and it works pretty well with leftover beef stew too. It’s a really handy kitchen hack when you’re a bit sick of seasonal cooking and you’ve got lots of leftovers. Don’t fret too much about quantities as it’s a bit of a freestyle dish – I use 2/3rds chicken or turkey meat and 1/3rd cooked vegetables and leftover gravy enriched with a little cream. Serve with green vegetables like tender-stem broccoli or French beans on the side.

• Leftover cooked chicken or turkey – a mix of white and brown meat, enough to fill your pie dish to about 2/3rds full
• 1 sheet of Jus-Rol ready rolled all-butter puff pastry
• Leftover cooked veg for the last 1/3rd of the pie mix: carrots, celeriac, parsnip, broccoli, onion – whatever you have from your Sunday or Xmas roasts. You can use a mix of those vegetables cut into small pieces and sauteed gently in a little butter to add to the meat if you don’t have leftover cooked veg. A handful of frozen peas can be handy to top up the mix
• 500ml leftover gravy
• 2 tbsps double cream
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds for decoration
• 1 egg yolk, whisked with a few drops of water

To make…

• Preheat the oven to 200C.
• Unroll the puff pastry. Place the pie dish on the pastry and cut around to create the perfect circle. Prick it lightly. Use the leftovers to cut out little stars or hearts for decoration.
• Mix the meat, chopped veg, parsley, gravy and cream together. The pie mix should be well coated with the gravy but not too sloppy. Add extra salt and pepper to taste.
• Place the mix into your pie dish, lightly brush the edge of the dish with the egg wash and then carefully lay the pastry over it. Pinch the pastry gently around the edge with your finger and thumb so that it sticks and creates a seal. Lightly touch the top with a fork to create some air holes. Brush with the egg wash, add your decorations and egg wash those. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Chill in the fridge for half an hour or so.
• Place the pie dish on a metal baking tray and bake for half an hour. The filling should be piping hot and the pastry golden and crisp.

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