The important thing is to start off with a large roast chicken on Sunday. Think ‘portion control’ with 120g servings per person (for 4) and you’ll have enough leftover for meals on Monday and Tuesday.

Leftover chicken and leek pie

Serves 4
Prep: 25 mins
Cook: 30-35 mins

200g butter
400g plain flour
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
150g leeks, finely sliced
150g mushrooms, sliced
294g can cream of mushroom soup
300g leftover chicken, shredded
1 tbsp milk, for brushing
Mashed potatoes and boiled (or steamed) cabbage to serve

1 For the pastry, rub the butter and flour together with your fingertips so that it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add 2-3 tbsp water, working quickly, knead in the bowl until the mixture starts to come together. Turn out onto a floured work surface and knead briefly until you have a smooth dough – adding more water or flour if necessary. Wrap in cling film and chill.

2 Preheat the oven to 200’C, 180’C fan, gas 6. Heat the oil in a large deep frying pan, add the onion, leek and mushrooms. Cook, stirring for 5-6 mins until the onion and leek have softened.

3 Add the condensed soup. Half fill the can with water and add to the pan. Cook stirring occasionally, for 2-3 mins until warmed through. Add the leftover chicken and cook for a further 2-3 mins. Set aside to cool slightly.

4 Roll out the pastry and use two-thirds to line a 1L pie dish (or two 500ml pie dishes – see Britalian Tip). Prick the bottom with a fork. Spoon in the pie filling.

5 Roll out the remaining pastry and use to top the pie. Crimp the edges to seal. Trim the edges and use the trimmings to decorate (optional – but I couldn’t resist). Pierce the centre with a knife to allow the steam to escape.

6 Brush the top with the milk and bake for 20-25 mins until golden. Serve with mash potatoes and cabbage.

Ok, ok, I had a little stumble at the first hurdle – I couldn’t quite bring myself to go through with the boiled cabbage.

Britalian Tip

This recipe makes one large pie for 4 but as there’s two of us, I made two smaller pies. A great tip from my mum is to use 2 x 8in sandwich cake tins. Perfect for two little pies! I froze the second pie (before brushing with milk). When ready to cook brush with milk and cook straight from frozen at the same temperature for 50mins-1hour. Check halfway to see if it needs covering with foil. Another dinner sorted!