A leftover lamb pie with goat's cheese was not something I planned – it arrived, as the best leftover cooking always does, from a fridge audit and a packet of filo pastry that needed using. The lamb was already cooked. The goat's cheese was there. The rest – cinnamon, raisins, sesame seeds, a scrunched and golden filo top – came together in the way that intuitive cooking does when you stop looking for a recipe and start looking at what you have.

Golden and rustic – leftover lamb pie with goat's cheese - The Flexible Chef

Ingredients for leftover lamb pie with goat's cheese

For the filling

• Leftover roast lamb, diced
• 2–3 medium potatoes, diced
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1–2 carrots, diced
• 2–3 cloves garlic, chopped
• A handful of collard greens, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds
• A small handful of raisins
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• A small bunch of fresh parsley, stalks finely chopped
• Black pepper, generously ground
• A grating of cinnamon
• A pinch of turmeric
• A glass of dry white wine (if needed)
• Olive oil, for cooking

To finish

• Goat's cheese, crumbled generously
• A handful of frozen peas
• 6–8 sheets of filo pastry
• Olive oil or melted butter, for brushing

This is a leftovers recipe by nature – treat the quantities as a guide rather than a rule. What you have is what you use.

METHOD

1. Par boil the diced potatoes until just tender but still holding their shape. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat a generous splash of olive oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Sauté the onion, carrot, and garlic until softened.
3. Add the diced lamb, par boiled potato, and collard greens. Cook for a few minutes, stirring gently.
4. Add the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, raisins, dried oregano, and chopped parsley stalks. Season with black pepper, a grating of cinnamon, and a pinch of turmeric. Stir well to combine.
5. If the mixture looks dry, splash in a glass of white wine and cook for a few minutes longer until absorbed.
6. Transfer the filling to a suitable baking dish and allow to cool completely.
7. Once cooled, crumble the goat's cheese generously over the filling and scatter the frozen peas on top.
8. Layer the filo pastry sheets over the filling one at a time, brushing each sheet lightly with olive oil or melted butter. Scrunch each sheet as you go for a rustic, textured top.
9. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C / 160°C fan / Gas 4 until the pastry is golden and crisp – approximately 25–30 minutes.
10. Serve on its own, with a salad, and definitely with a glass of something rather nice.

Filling and filo – leftover lamb pie with goat's cheese - Casa Adora

A Pie That Doesn't Know What It Is – and Doesn't Care

Shepherd's pie this is not. The filo pastry alone signals that something different is happening – lighter, crispier, more theatrical than the mash-topped comfort of its cousin. But it is the filling that gives the game away. Cinnamon, raisins, sesame seeds, poppy seeds – this leftover lamb pie with goat's cheese has one foot in the Mediterranean and the other somewhere farther east. It arrived unplanned and has never needed an explanation since.

Collard greens add an earthiness that cuts through the richness of the lamb. The raisins bring a quiet sweetness that works with the cinnamon without tipping the whole thing into something cloying. And the goat's cheese – crumbled cold over the cooled filling before the pastry goes on – melts into the layers during baking in a way that makes the whole thing considerably more than the sum of its parts.

The Filo Question

Filo pastry has a reputation for being difficult. It is not. The only rule worth observing is speed – filo dries out quickly once the packet is open, so have your olive oil or melted butter ready before you start. Beyond that, scrunching is encouraged. A rustic, ruffled top browns unevenly and beautifully and looks far more considered than anything achieved by laying the sheets flat.

Leftovers as a Cooking Philosophy

There is a particular satisfaction in a dish that costs almost nothing because the hard work was already done. The lamb was roasted. The stock, if it exists, was allocated to another purpose. What remains is a handful of ingredients, a packet of pastry, and the freedom to cook without a plan. This leftover lamb pie with goat's cheese is that kind of dish – resourceful, generous, and quietly very good.

This recipe is part of the Lamb & Goat collection — lamb and goat recipes from Casa Adora and the road.

Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures – The Flexible Chef.