While we are lucky enough to spend Thanksgiving with family, there's been something missing... We didn't have any leftover turkey. For some, this might not be a hardship, as not everyone likes turkey enough to want to eat it for days afterward.
But Herb and I really enjoy turkey, so we've created a new tradition - the After-Turkey Turkey. Either before Thanksgiving or right after, we look for a good deal on a small turkey - not more than 12-13 pounds. And the weekend after Thanksgiving, we have a turkey dinner all over again.
So, last night, we had roast turkey with fingerling potatoes and a dish of roasted butternut squash and cauliflower, some simple bread and rice stuffing and gorgeous turkey gravy. We hardly made a dent in the white meat, so we'll have plenty for sandwiches in the coming week.
Today, I'll make turkey curry with the meat from the legs and wings, saving the bones, some of the meat on them, and some of the very tasty skin to make a big pot of soup at the end of the week.
The Turkey Curry is easy:
Cut dark meat into bite size pieces
Cut a medium onion into roughly one-inch square pieces
Slice several garlic cloves (to your taste - we love garlic, so there'll be about 5-6 cloves in ours)
Coarse chop two small tomatoes
Turkey or chicken broth (canned is fine)
2 teaspoons arrowroot or flour
Curry powder (sweet curry or hot curry, as you like - we mix the two)
Salt and pepper to taste
In a deep, large frying pan, pour some olive oil and saute the onion until translucent, then add the garlic and saute until softened but not browned. Add in the turkey meat, and stir until everything is thoroughly mixed together. Shake the curry powder over everything in the pan and stir until it coats the garlic, onions and meat.
Pour in half the broth, stirring to make sure nothing's sticking to the pan. In a container that has a lid, put the arrowroot or flour, and the remainder of the broth and shake until it's completely mixed. While stirring the contents of the pan, pour this mixture into the pan. Continue stirring until the sauce starts to thicken. Taste and adjust salt, pepper and curry powder to your taste. Add in the tomatoes and stir a bit more. It's best if they retain their shape, so don't cook too long at this point.
The curry can be served on its own, with a side dish of vegetables, or you can serve it over rice. We like it over noodles, such as broad egg noodles or linguini - anything that will absorb some of the fantastic curry flavor.
The flavor is very different than the regular Thanksgiving dinner, so it's a great way to use some of the leftover meat without feeling like you're "turkeyed out" after several days.
Enjoy - let me know if you try it and how it turns out.
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