Skip the fat laden turkey stuffing sandwich, and the turkey pot pie
Asian flavors add a twist, while staving off holiday pounds by transforming leftover Thanksgiving turkey and veggies into your new favorite ways to use up turkey with curry turkey salad, turkey miso soup, and turkey spring rolls that you can enjoy during the holidays, or any time of year
No turkey? No problem – You can swap cooked chicken breast for any of these recipes
Curry Turkey Salad
Creamy Curried Turkey Salad – You will want to double this one for parties and leftovers – a favorite! For a tapas or cocktail party, scoop turkey salad onto lettuce leaves, such as butter lettuce, and serve on a platter, or as show, in a bowl surrounded by your favorite sturdy chips, like these blue corn chips, or some toasted baguette or crostini
1 cup real mayonnaise, or avocado mayo
2 tbsp salt free curry powder
2 tbsp fresh oregano leaves, chopped and packed
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, preferably unfiltered
4 cups diced cooked turkey, preferably organic*
1/2 cup dried currants
1-1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onion, or diced red onion
-Place diced turkey, currants, diced celery, and sliced green onion in a large bowl
-In a small bowl, mix mayonnaise, curry powder, oregano, green or red onion, salt, and vinegar
-Stir mayonnaise mixture into bowl with diced turkey
-Taste to adjust seasonings and mayo as desired
-Refrigerate for 1 hour to let flavors combine before serving
-Serve on toasted baguette, over salad, in lettuce wraps, or with lentil chips
Makes 6 cups
Consume within 5 days of cooking turkey
*Tip: Pulse turkey in food processor with chop blade to save time
Turkey Miso Noodle Soup – Make a broth by boiling the turkey carcass in 12 cups of water, along with one inch piece of fresh ginger, 6 cloves garlic, 1/4 cup of soy sauce or tamari, 1/2 cup dried mushrooms, and a 6 inch piece of dried kombu seaweed.* In a pinch, use your favorite boxed chicken broth, but if you have the time for a homemade stock, it is worth the effort.
12 cups broth (see note above)
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil for cooking, plus 1 tbsp more for garnish
2 Vidalia onions, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2″ piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 carrots, matchstick cut, or thinly sliced
4 celery stalks, trimmed and sliced
4 cups thinly sliced fresh shitake mushrooms, stems discarded
2 1/2 cups chopped cooked turkey
8oz soba or rice noodles
8oz white miso
Soy sauce or tamari to taste (optional)
1 bunch green onions, chopped for garnish
-In a large heavy pot, lightly sauté onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms, ginger and garlic in 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil until onions are soft and translucent, but there is still some texture to the celery and carrots, about 5 minutes
-Add turkey, broth, and noodles to soup, and simmer just until noodles are tender, about 5 minutes
-Meanwhile, place miso in a medium bowl, adding small amounts of broth, stirring into miso to make a slurry, then add miso slurry to soup, and stir to incorporate
-Adjust seasonings by adding a dash of tamari or soy sauce, if needed
– Ladle into bowls, garnish with chopped green onion, and a few dashes of toasted sesame oil. Use hot toasted sesame oil to give it a little spice
Serves 6 as a main
*Kombu is a sea veggie found in Asian markets and health stores. It adds lots of flavor and minerals to any broth. It expands 7 times its’ size, so a 4″ – 6″ piece for a pot of broth is enough. When the broth is done, reserve the reconstituted kombu, chop it up, and add it back to the soup.
*No time to make broth? Use your favorite boxed low sodium or regular chicken broth.
Turkey Spring Rolls – These are baked, not fried like traditional spring rolls. That makes them big on flavor, and low in fat and calories. Run all ingredients through the food processor on slice or shred blade to save time. Substitute 2c chopped shitake mushrooms for turkey to make vegan. This is a huge party hit at my house, and a perfect hand held food for a walk around holiday gathering
Ingredients
2 cups minced cooked turkey
3 tbsp toasted sesame oil (divided)
4 cloves minced garlic
2 tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 large Vidalia onion, thinly sliced
2 medium carrots, julienned
10 oz raw shredded cabbage, any variety (about 4 cups)
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp tamari
1 pkg spring roll wrappers
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-In a large sauté pan or wok, over medium heat, sauté garlic, ginger, onion and carrot in 2 tbsp sesame oil until wilted, about 5 minutes
-Add cabbage, cover, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes
-Remove from heat
-Toss with green onions and hoisin sauce
-Lay spring roll wrapper out in diamond shape, with bottom corner facing you
-Have a small bowl of water next to wrappers – This will be used to seal top wrapper corner after rolling
-Place 2 tbsp mixture to bottom corner closest to you, then fold bottom corner up over mixture
-Don’t over stuff wrapper!
-Fold in right and left corners over filling, then tightly roll up towards remaining end corner
-Use your finger to dab a drop of water over end corner to seal wrapper closed
-Place on baking sheet lined with parchment, sealed side down
-Lightly brush spring rolls with remaining 1 tbsp sesame oil
-Bake 20-30 minutes, middle rack, or until lightly browned, turning pan half way through for even browning
-Serve with duck sauce or
Makes about 25 spring rolls
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