Chef John Ash

One of the great things about Thanksgiving is lots of leftovers. One of the not so good things about Thanksgiving is lots of leftovers. I’m one of those who loves the leftovers for the next day but then run out of gas eating them a second day. Go online and you’ll find lots of ideas for using leftovers, but I confess that many of them seem contrived.

The tried and true of course is a fat turkey sandwich with toasted bread, slices of turkey, cranberry sauce and gravy or mayonnaise. You could even slide a little stuffing or sliced brie in along with some crisp romaine lettuce. I’ll bet most of you have your fave.

Here are some ideas that I’ve done over the years:

MEXICAN TURKEY NOODLE SOUP
Serves 6

This is a riff on the Mexican soup Sopa de Fideo. Fideo means noodle, usually used in the plural fideos to mean vermicelli. Fideo noodles, a type of thin, cut pasta, are traditionally used. Vermicelli or angel hair often substituted. Special Fideo noodles are sold at most Latin/Mexican grocery stores.

Like most pastas, they are made of durum wheat and water, rolled or extruded, cut and dried. But fideos are usually prepared quite differently than Italian-style pasta in that the dry pasta is first toasted in olive oil. This is a very easy recipe.

One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained preferable fire roasted
1-1/2 cups chopped onion
2 large cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Mexican
1 teaspoon chopped canned chipotle, or more to taste
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 ounces dried fideos or angel hair pasta, broken into 1″ pieces
6 cups turkey or chicken stock
3 cups cooked, diced or shredded turkey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Garnishes: Chopped diced avocado, crumbled queso fresco, finely chopped white onion, cilantro sprigs
In a food processor, combine the tomatoes, onion, garlic, oregano, chipotle and sugar. Process until smooth.
In a heavy soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the dry pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta starts to turn golden, about 5 minutes.
Add the tomato mixture and the chicken stock. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, until the pasta is al dente, about 5 minutes.
Add the turkey and heat thru. Season to your taste with salt and pepper.
Ladle the soup into 6 bowls and encourage eaters to add garnishes to their taste.

TURKEY TETRAZZINI
Serves 4 – 6

This dish purportedly was named for Luisa Tetrazzini, an Italian soprano who was popular in America in the early 1900’s. Beautifully plump, she once said, “I must not diet. If I diet my face sag”. She loved rich pasta with chicken or turkey and mushrooms and this dish was created for her by an unknown chef. All kinds of variations exist including adding peas, toasted slivered almonds and more. This is a wonderful dish to make with leftover Thanksgiving turkey.

4 cups (about 12 ounces) sliced button or cremini mushrooms
6 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups rich turkey or chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
3 – 4 tablespoons medium dry sherry such as amontillado
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2-pound dry cavatelli or pennette pasta
3 – 4 cups chopped or shredded Thanksgiving turkey
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan or other hard grating cheese
1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs, panko preferred

Sauté the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of the butter in a heavy 4-quart saucepan until lightly browned and all liquid has evaporated. Set pan and mushrooms aside.

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over moderate heat. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes to make a roux. Gradually whisk in the broth, cream and sherry. Bring sauce to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, whisking the whole time. Stir in the nutmeg and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile cook the pasta in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain well.
Stir half the sauce into the turkey and the other half into the mushrooms along with the pasta. Transfer mixture to a buttered 8 cup baking dish or casserole and make a well in the center. Spoon turkey mixture into the well.

Combine the parmesan with the breadcrumbs and sprinkle evenly over the top along with the remaining tablespoon of butter cut into small bits. Bake in a preheated 375° oven for 30 minutes or so or until bubbling and top is lightly golden brown.

TURKEY AND WAFFLES
Serves 4

This assumes you have good leftover gravy so be sure to make lots. You could also add some quickly sauteed spinach to this simple recipe.

2 tablespoons butter
2 cups diced cremini mushrooms
Dry white vermouth or white wine
3 cups leftover turkey gravy
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 homemade or store-bought waffles
Slices of turkey both white and dark meat
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese to garnish

Heat a deep saucepan, add the butter and sauté the mushrooms over moderate heat until lightly browned. Add a splash of white vermouth and the gravy. Bring to a simmer and season to your taste with salt and pepper.

Place waffles on warm plates and top with turkey. Spoon gravy over and sprinkle parmesan cheese over. Serve immediately.

John Ash © 2024