Left Over Gammon - Chicken, Ham and Leek Pie

Ah Christmas!  In our house there would be outcry if I did not cook a gammon, preferably on the bone, and glaze it with dijon mustard and brown sugar.  This year for various reasons the piece of pig that arrived was HUGE.  I really do mean collosal.  Having already had several leftover meals from this magnificent piece of meat (fried egg, chips and slices of ham - how delicious!) I was still left with well over half the joint to contend with. 

Chicken and Leftover Ham (Gammon) Pie

You will need:

Ingredients
A couple of chicken pieces, cut into chunks (breast or thigh are fine and you can even use leftovers)
Equal quantity of leftover gammon, cut into chunks
One or two leeks, sliced
One onion, finely diced
Milk
Butter
Ground black pepper
Ground nutmeg (optional)
Mushrooms
Plain flour
Frozen readymade shortcrust pastry
Chicken stock (fresh or made with a cube)

Equipment
Frying pan
Large saucepan or stock pot
Sharp knife (for cubing meat and slicing veg)
Pie dish
Pastry brush

Method

• In the saucepan melt some butter and fry the chicken and ham together very gently (you do not want lots of colour, just to seal the meat).
• Add enough milk to cover the meat, lots of fresh pepper and the nutmeg if using and poach gently for a while.
• Meanwhile, melt some more butter in the frying pan and fry the leeks and onion.  When soft, add the mushrooms and fry for a minute.
• Add a heaped tablespoon of floujr (more if required) to the vegetable mixture and stir to create a thickish paste.  This will add as a roux to add to thicken the milk and meat mixture.  Continue to cook for a couple of minutes over a low heat being careful not to burn the flour.
• Gradually add spoonfuls of the floury mixture to the meat saucepan stirring continually to make sure each addition is properly absorbed.
• When all the mixture has been combined, treat rather like a chees sauce:  allow to cook, stirring well, until it thickens.
• Put the mixture into the pie dishes and allow to cool.
• Roll out the pastry in accordance with the instructions.
• Moisten the edge of the pie dish with water and add the pie lid - gently press the pastry down onto the mixture and then pinch the edges to seal the crust.
• Using the pastry brush wash the lid with milk (to give you a lovely golden crust when cooked)
• Bake the pie for about 40 minutes at the temperature on the pastry instructions (usually about 180 degrees or gas mark 5).  Keep an eye on it after about half an hour to make sure it is not catching on the top.

Any extra pies can be frozen - I would suggest NOT cooking the pie after adding the crust if you are going to do this.