If you brought a 20-pound bird into your house this week, I’m guessing you still have several pounds of prime roasted meat that should be eaten soon.
Everyone’s got a strategy; one friend serves her family a dish made of diced turkey and leftover gravy mixed into a mound of rice. They refer to it fondly as “Glop.”
I make a white chili with mild ancho pepper from a recipe famous on Shelter Island because Islander Tom Hashagen and a team of his BOCES Culinary Arts students used to make pots of it for guests at charity events. This chili may have saved several past Turkey Plunge swimmer/fundraisers from hypothermia.
And while we are thanking volunteer fundraisers, let’s not leave out the pie-makers. Their contributions are vital at this season, especially when they contribute a flaky crust for this turkey pot pie, which is another great use of a few cups of roasted turkey.
Turkey Chili
Serves 6
2 medium onions
4 cloves garlic, mashed, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon marjoram
1 ½ teaspoon savory
1 ½ teaspoon cumin
2-3 tablespoons Ancho chili powder
1 bay leaf
19 ounce can garbanzo beans, drained
4 cups chicken or turkey stock
1 cup cooked barley
3 cups shredded cooked turkey
Sauté onions and garlic in the olive oil over medium flame about 10 minutes; or until the onions wilt, and the garlic is fragrant.
Add the marjoram, savory, cumin, 2 tablespoons of the chili powder, and bay leaf. Cook for another 5 minutes.
Add the garbanzo beans and stock and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Taste and add salt and the third tablespoon of chili powder if you want more heat.
Add the barley. Simmer for another 20 minutes.
Add the shredded turkey, bring back to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes.
Serve in a bowl with a spoonful of crème fraiche, plain yogurt or sour cream on top.
Turkey Pot Pie
8 servings
1 cup sliced shallot
1 cup sliced carrots
2 garlic cloves, crushed and coarsely chopped.
2 cups broccoli rabe coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups roasted turkey
3 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken or turkey stock
1 cup heavy cream
1 9-inch unbaked pie crust
1 egg mixed with ½ teaspoon of water to make an egg wash
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the shallots, carrots, garlic and broccoli rabe in the olive oil, and roast on parchment or foil in a sheet pan for 20 minutes until tender, stirring once.
- Cut or tear the roasted turkey meat into bite-sized pieces. Mix the turkey and vegetables together in a large bowl.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan until it is foamy, add the flour stirring until it is thick and bubbly, about 2 minutes. Add the stock, and stir over medium high heat until it cooks down–about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat, add the cream and continue stirring until the mixture thickens again. Add a pinch of salt and four grinds of pepper.
- Combine the cream mixture with the turkey and vegetables. Scrape into a 10-inch diameter deep dish pie plate.
- Roll pie crust to a 10.5-inch circle, using short, fast strokes, and working from the middle of the circle out to the edges. Drape the pastry over the rolling pin, and use it to transfer the dough to the pie, draping the pastry over the top and sealing the edges with your fingers.
- Brush the pie with the egg/water mix, cut four slits in the crust to allow steam to escape, and place the pie pan on a sheet pan.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, lower the temperature to 375 degrees and bake for another 25 minutes, until the pie crust is golden, and the contents are steaming up through the vents in the crust. Let the pie sit for 10 minutes before serving it.
