Roast Turkey and Root Vegetable Pot Pie Napoleon on Golden Flaky Pie Crust
Source: Jill Klein, Parties That Cook!
Recipe Type: Entrees | Seasons: Winter
This recipe was demonstrated for CUESA’s Market to Table program on November 6, 2010.
Serves 8
INGREDIENTS
Turkey
4 pounds turkey thighs, about 3 whole thighs (can substitute chicken thighs)
4 cups water
½ cup sugar
1 cup kosher salt
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1¼ teaspoons black peppercorns, cracked
2 sprigs rosemary, lightly bruised
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup chicken stock
Filling
3 large carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal, about 1-inch long and ½-inch thick
3 large parsnips, peeled and sliced on the diagonal, about 1-inch long and ½-inch thick
1 small sweet potato, about 2 cups, cut into 1-inch dice
1 pound small red potatoes, halved (quartered if they are big)
1 medium red onion, cut into large dice
½ cup peeled whole garlic cloves, smashed
1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped, or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
Veloute sauce
⅓ cup unsalted butter
⅓ cup flour
5 cups vegetable or chicken stock
Reserved pan juice from roast turkey
1½ cups heavy cream
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons chopped sage
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Pinch nutmeg
Golden flaky pie crust with fleur de sel
5 cups all purpose flour, plus more for rolling out
2½ teaspoons kosher salt
5 sticks (1¼ pounds) unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces and chilled
About ½ cup ice water
Nonstick baking spray
3 eggs, lightly beaten
Coarse fleur de sel, for garnish
Garnishing salad with citrus vinaigrette
1 cup fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon celery salt
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
5 cups baby wild rocket (arugula), washed and dried
PREPARATION
For the turkey
- Preheat oven to 400°. Cut the turkey thighs in half lengthwise so that one side has the bone and the other does not. The bones will give the dish more flavor, and cutting it in half will allow the turkey to cook faster. Set aside.
- In a large bowl combine water, sugar, salt, garlic cloves, peppercorns, and rosemary sprigs. Stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Add the turkey pieces, ensuring the meat is completely submerged. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1-1½ hours. Remove turkey from the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Place the turkey pieces into a large baking pan and rub the butter all over the top and bottom of thighs. Pour in the chicken stock and bake for 30 minutes or until a thermometer placed into the thickest part of the turkey registers 165º. Remove from the oven, pour pan juice into a measuring cup and reserve for the sauce. Let the turkey cool until it can be handled. Discard the skin and shred the thighs into bite size pieces. Set aside.
For the filling
Preheat oven to 400º. Place all ingredients into a large bowl and mix well to incorporate. Add to a sheet pan and place into the oven to roast for 25 minutes or until the vegetables are golden brown. Stir halfway through cooking with a metal spatula. Meanwhile make the veloute sauce below.
For the veloute sauce
- In a medium saucepan melt the butter over low heat, being careful not burn it, and add the flour. Raise the heat to medium and whisk the butter and flour together for about 2 minutes to form a white roux. Slowly pour the stock, the reserved pan juice and the cream into the roux while constantly whisking. Add the bay leaves and bring to a simmer, turn the heat down to low and cook until it thickens, stirring now with a wooden spoon to get into the corners of the pot. A thin skin may form; just skim it away with your spoon. Depending on your stovetop, the sauce may take 5-10 minutes to get to its desired consistency.
- Season the sauce with the salt, pepper, sage, lemon juice and nutmeg. Remove about 2 cups of the sauce to a smaller saucepan to use when plating. Add the roasted turkey and the roast vegetables to the large batch of sauce, switching to a large bowl if the saucepan does not hold everything. Stir gently as to not mash the vegetables.
For the crust
- Make dough: Combine the flour and kosher salt in a large bowl. Add the cold butter and toss to coat with the flour. Using your hands or a pastry cutter, work the butter into the flour, incorporating any pieces of butter that have fallen to the bottom of the bowl. Work the dough until you have pieces that are no larger than a pea. Drizzle half the ice water over the top; using a fork, mix the dough until it just holds together when pinched. Add more ice water a tablespoon at a time until this consistency is achieved. Bring the dough mass into a ball and flatten into a disk. Cut into 4 equal parts. Reform each part into a round disk, wrap with plastic and refrigerate until ready to roll.
- Roll dough: Lightly flour the work surface and rolling pin. Roll a disk of dough out until it is about ⅛ inch thick (keep the other rounds cold in the refrigerator). Using a 4-inch round or fluted ring cutter, cut the dough into 5 rounds. Lay the rounds onto a sprayed sheet pan and repeat with the rest of the dough. Once you have 20 rounds (you will only need 16 for the finished dish), you can make decorative leaves or vines to garnish half of the dough rounds for the top crust of the napoleon. Place the dough into the refrigerator or freezer until ready to bake.
- Bake dough: Preheat oven to 375º. Brush the dough with the beaten egg. Add the garnishing leaves and/or vines to half the rounds and brush with more egg wash. Sprinkle the rounds with fleur de sel. Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Gently remove the flaky crusts from the sheet pan (they will be delicate).
Garnishing salad with citrus vinaigrette
In a saucepan, boil the orange juice over moderately high heat until reduced to a few tablespoons, about 5 minutes. Let cool and transfer to a bowl. Add the lemon juice, celery salt and kosher salt and whisk together. While whisking, add the oil in a thin steady stream. When ready to serve, dress the arugula with half the vinaigrette. Taste and add more as needed.
To serve
Place a plain round of crust onto each of eight plates. Top with a generous spoonful of the pot pie filling. Place the decorative crust round on top. Ladle more sauce on the plate as desired and top with the salad greens.
