Turkey Hand Pies with Potatoes and Vegetables

Preheat the oven to 400°F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil or butter in a large frying pan set over medium-high heat. Add the ground turkey and season with 1/2 tsp of salt and a couple turns of black pepper. Cook the turkey for 10 to 15 minutes, breaking it up as it cooks, until it’s cooked through and no longer pink. Remove it from the pan and set it aside.

To the same pan, add all of the vegetables and cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until they begin to soften, then add the turkey back to the pan and mix it with the vegetables. Season the mixture with poultry seasoning and salt and pepper.

Push the turkey and veggies away from the middle of the pan, creating a well or a space in the center. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to that well. Melt the butter, then add the flour and mix it with the butter to make a roux, or paste made with fat and flour that is used to thicken sauces.

Mix the roux with the turkey and veggies. Cook it for about 1 minute to cook out the raw flavor of the flour.

Stir in the broth, making a little gravy to coat the turkey and vegetables. (Note: it won’t be super saucy.) Once the gravy is thick and coats everything in the pan, remove from heat.

Roll each thawed pastry sheet to a rectangle 10 by 12 inches in size, then cut each pastry sheet into 6 rectangles about 4×5 inches. You should have 24 rectangles total.

Add a couple spoonfuls of turkey mixture to the center of 12 of the rectangles, then use the other 12 rectangles to top each of the filled ones, making sure that all of the filling is fully covered (you may need to stretch the top rectangles a bit). Press the edges of the puff pastry rectangles together with a fork, making individual rectangular pies.

Cut a small slit into the top of each pie to make a vent so that the steam can escape while they’re baking. Brush each pie with egg wash.

Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, or until each pie is golden and puffed. Serve warm.

If you have a pastry sheet that you rolled out larger than another, use the larger sheet one for the tops of the pies. The tops have to be stretched over the domed filling, so it’s helpful if the top pastry rectangles are slightly larger than the bottoms.

Assemble the pies on a surface first, then move them to the baking sheet.

If you have extra filling leftover, mix it with some gravy and use it on mashed potatoes, or top the pies with it.