Turkey Soup with Lime and Chile, aka The BEST Use of Leftover Turkey

 

So after slaving away for hours trying to create a memorable and fantastic Thanksgiving dinner, I cooked, served, cleaned and swore I would never ever do it again (I swear, cooking Thanksgiving dinner is like giving birth... you never remember how crazy hard it is.  Good thing, I suppose.)

But then I came across this soup for the leftover turkey meat.  It is so clean and bright with the lime and jalepenos and cilantro that it doesn't seem like leftovers at all.  It is as if David Tanis from the NY Times waltzed into my tiny kitchen and gave me a reason for making turkey at all.

I kind of wish I could just serve this for the big day instead of a ginormous bird.   

Time: About 1 hour 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup diced onion

1 cup diced celery

1 cup diced carrot

1/2 teaspoon cumin seed

1/2 teaspoon coriander seed

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 cinnamon stick, 2 inches long

Cayenne

2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

8 cups unsalted turkey or chicken broth

Vegetable oil for frying (if you don't use premade tortilla chips)

4 corn tortillas, at least a day old, cut in 1/2-inch strips (OR TORTILLA CHIPS...Good quality!)

4 to 6 cups cooked turkey meat, shredded

1 or 2 firm-ripe avocados

6 scallions, chopped

2 jalapeños, thinly sliced

1 small bunch cilantro, leaves and tender stems, roughly chopped

Lime wedges.

  

Directions:

1. Heat vegetable oil in a heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and carrot and let soften, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.

2. Toast the cumin, coriander and peppercorns in a small dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 1 minute, then grind in a spice mill or mortar (or dedicated coffee grinder.) Add the ground spices to the pot, along with the garlic, cinnamon, a pinch of cayenne and salt.

3. Add the broth and bring to a boil, then reduce to a brisk simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, then taste for salt and adjust. Keep hot, covered, over very low heat.

4. If you aren't using premade tortilla chips, pour vegetable oil to a depth of 1/2 inch into a wide skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot and looks wavy, add the tortilla strips and fry until barely colored, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove with tongs and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle lightly with salt. (The oil may be strained and saved for future frying.)

5. In a medium saucepan, heat the shredded turkey meat with a little of the hot soup. Divide the meat among 4 to 6 soup bowls and add a few slices of avocado to each. Ladle about 1 cup soup into each bowl, then garnish with tortilla strips, scallions, jalapeño slices, chopped cilantro and a generous squeeze of lime juice.

Yield: 4 to 6 large servings.

Turkey Bolognese Ragu with Pappardelle

This recipe from a blog called the Culinary Chronicles is one of the few that make both me and my comfort food loving husband swoon. You know me...all veggies and fruits and fish versus my husband who never met an Italian Deli he didn't like. So we don't always agree. But on this recipe...best of both worlds. Turkey instead of pork, chunks of carrot, celery, low fat milk and onion so everyone is happy. Well, except the kids. Because they won't eat meat sauce. Sure, they will scarf down a steak, hamburger or unidentifiable hot dog meat. But somehow meat sauce is scary to them. But that is why god invented plain pasta. For wussie kids. Who will one day grow up to love meat sauce.

Warning: This is not a weeknight endeavor. Unless you happen to have a spare 3 hours on your weeknight. But you can make it on Sunday, serve it on Monday and freeze the rest for another weeknight.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey
¼ pound Spicy Italian sausage, out of casing (I used chicken Italian sausage from TJ's)
1 cup white onion, finely minced
1 cup celery, finely minced
1 cup carrots, finely minced
1 tablespoon fresh garlic, finely minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon dried red chili flakes (or less depending on your heat preference)
2 dried bay leaves
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup lowfat milk
1 cup dry white wine
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 pound Pappardelle (thank you Trader Joes!), cooked
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped (I obviously forgot this as evidenced by the lack of greenery in the photo.)
2-3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Heat olive oil in a large heavy pot. Add onions, carrots, celery, and garlic. Saute until softened but not browned. Add chili flakes and sauté for an additional minute. Add turkey, Italian sausage, and ½ teaspoon of kosher salt. Use a wooden spoon to crumble the meat and break into small pieces.

Once the meat is no longer pink, add thyme and bay leaves. Add tomato paste and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. Add the milk and bring to a simmer. Continue simmering until all the milk has evaporated and only clear juices remain—about 10 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a simmer. Continue simmering until all the wine has evaporated—about 10 minutes.

Add tomatoes with its juices and bring to a boil, then place the heat at the lowest setting. Continue on this very low simmer for 2 – 2 ½ hours, stirring every 20 minutes until you get a rich, thick meaty sauce. Check for seasonings and add kosher salt and pepper accordingly.

Toss the cooked pappardelle in Bolognese sauce and serve topped with Parmesan cheese. Garnish with Italian parsley and Enjoy!

Turkey Meatloaf

Adapted from the Barefoot Contessa's 1st book:  The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

I am not a huge meatloaf fan.  There are way too many bad versions out there.  A lot of folks have some sort of sentimental attachment to the dish, but my mom was more apt to make overcooked broccoli and stinky salmon than meatloaf (too much veggie chopping, probably) so I harbor no such longings.  But, I did try the BC turkey version some years back and, surprise surprise, it was quite good.  So when the weather turns a little bit chilly, I break this one out.  The BC version makes enough meatloaf to last for weeks on end, so I halved the recipe:

1 yellow onion
1 T olive oil
1 t kosher salt
1/2 t pepper
1/4 t dried thyme
1/6 (just eyeball 1/2 of the 1/3 cup measure) worcestershire sauce
just under 1/2 c chicken stock/broth
3/4 t tomato paste
2 1/2 lbs ground turkey (do NOT get the extra lean as the loaf will dry out.)
3/4 c bread crumbs (yes, I use panko)
2 eggs, beaten
just under 1/2 c ketchup

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees

Saute over medium heat the onion, olive oil, salt, pepper and thyme for about 15 min.  Add the worcestershire sauce, chicken stock and tomato paste and mix well.  Take off the stove and let cool to room temperature.

Combine the ground turkey, bread crumbs, eggs and onion mixture in a bowl.  Mix well and shape into a rectangular loafish shape on a rimmed cookie sheet covered with foil.  Spread the ketchup evenly on top.  Bake for 1 1/2 hours.

You can put a pan of hot water under the meatloaf in the oven if you don't want cracks to appear on the top of the loaf.

Keep leftovers for sandwiches the next day.