Leftover get-ahead gravy pockets
Easy pastry, Cheddar & cranberry sauce
35 mins plus chilling
Not Too Tricky
serves 4
About the recipe
I love these little pastry pockets. Just mix your flavour-packed Get-ahead gravy leftovers with cheese, dot over some cranberry sauce for added festive vibes and encase it all in an easy pastry dough. Serve with a fresh green salad for a lovely lunch.
Ingredients
200g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
100g unsalted butter
1 teaspoon dried rosemary or thyme
35g mature Cheddar cheese
150g Get-ahead gravy leftovers (make sure you’ve removed all the bones, see tip)
2 tablespoons cranberry sauce
1 large egg
English mustard, to serve
Top Tip
To prep your Get-ahead gravy leftovers, once cool, carefully pick through the chicken and discard all the bones and any whole spices and herbs – you need to be very careful here, so put on a Christmas podcast and take your time. – Chicken leftovers from the gravy can only be reheated once, and must be piping hot to serve.
Method
- Pile the flour into a bowl with a small pinch of sea salt, grate in the butter, add the dried herbs and rub together to form a mix that resembles breadcrumbs. Add 2 to 2½ tablespoons of water, bringing everything together to form a dough. Knead on a flour-dusted surface for 2 minutes, adding a little extra flour, if needed. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
- Coarsely grate the cheese into the Get-ahead gravy leftovers, season with salt and black pepper, and mix well.
- Roll out the pastry to a rectangle roughly 25cm x 30cm, then cut into 4 rectangles.
- Divide the filling between the 4 rectangles, piling onto one half and leaving a border around the edge. Dollop little blobs of cranberry sauce over the toppings.
- Beat the egg in a small bowl to make an eggwash. Brush the eggwash around the border of the rectangles, then fold over to make a parcel. Seal the edges with a fork, brush the parcels all over with eggwash, and snip a little hole in the top.
- Place the parcels on a lined baking tray and bake for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is beautifully golden and cooked through. Delicious with a fresh green salad and a dab of English mustard on the side.
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