Festive Bake

Ingredients

• Red Onion - Cranberry Layer

  • 1 medium red onion, finely diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 3 tbsp cranberry sauce
  • 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • pinch salt
  • 1 tbsp dried cranberries, for extra chew (optional)

• Meat Layer

  • 200g turkey, or chicken
  • 75g streaky bacon, diced

• Creamy Sauce

  • 25g butter
  • 25g plain flour
  • 175ml chicken, or turkey stock
  • 2 tbsp double cream
  • ½ tsp dried sage
  • ½ tsp dried thyme
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

• Stuffing

  • 1 packet sage & onion stuffing mix, (prepared to packet directions)

• Pastry

  • 1 sheet puff pastry, ready rolled
  • 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)

Instructions

• Make the Red Onion - Cranberry Mix

  1. Heat butter/oil in a pan.
  2. Add red onion and cook on medium-low for 8–10 minutes until soft and sweet.
  3. Add garlic, cook 1 minute.
  4. Stir in cranberry sauce and balsamic.
  5. Simmer until thick, glossy, and jammy.
  6. Season with a pinch of salt.
  7. Set aside — this is your bottom layer.

• Cook the Meat

  1. In the same pan, fry bacon until crisp. Remove and set aside.
  2. Add turkey/chicken to the bacon fat and fry until browned and cooked through.
  3. Add bacon back in, mix to coat.
  4. Remove all meat from pan and set aside, leaving the flavourful fond behind — this is key for the sauce.

• Make the Creamy Sauce

  1. Add butter to the same pan (plus any remaining fat).
  2. Stir in flour to make a roux and cook 1 minute.
  3. Add stock gradually while whisking.
  4. Simmer until very thick - thicker than gravy.
  5. Add cream, sage, thyme, black pepper, and salt to taste
  6. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

• Combine Meat with Sauce

  1. Mix the turkey/chicken + bacon with the thick creamy sauce.
  2. The mixture should be well coated but not runny.

• Prepare the Stuffing

  1. Make stuffing per packet instructions.
  2. Let it cool so it firms up.
  3. Fluff or crumble lightly depending on preferred texture.

• Assembly

  1. Unroll the puff pastry sheet (approx. 40 cm × 24 cm) and cut it into 4 strips along the 40 cm side, giving strips 10 cm wide × 24 cm long.
  2. On each strip: Leave a 1 cm gap around the edges. Brush this gap lightly with beaten egg — this helps seal the pastry. Spoon the fillings onto the bottom half of the pastry. Thin layer of red onion–cranberry mix. Layer of stuffing. Layer of creamy turkey bacon mixture.
  3. Fold the top half of the strip over the filling. Press and crimp the edges to seal, a fork dipped in egg works well for this, cut a few steam slits, and brush with egg wash.

• Bake

  1. Preheat oven to 200°C (fan 180°C)
  2. Bake for 20–25 minutes until puffed, crisp, and golden.
  3. Rest for 5-10 minutes before eating.