Four Recipes for Leftover Turkey

After Thanksgiving and Christmas, there’s often the question of what to do with leftover turkey! From a one-pan stir-fry to curry, turnovers and pie, here are four great turkey recipes for you to try.

Easy One Pan Turkey Stir-Fry Recipe

Packed with protein and made in just one pan, this turkey hash stir-fry recipe from IRIS YAP is a high-protein meal for busy days – great when you want something full of flavour without too much prep. Iris is a Senior Personal Trainer at Surge Strength & Results, and she says that eating well doesn’t have to mean compromising on flavour. “Life is too short to eat flavourless food, yet long enough to not eat poorly. Both can coexist. You deserve to eat well.”

Ingredients (serves 1)

150g white cabbage
150g white potatoes
80g turkey ham
2 eggs
10g Lao Gan Ma chilli crisp

How to make Turkey Hash Stir-Fry recipe

#1. Thinly shred the cabbage.
#2. Cut the potatoes into small cubes.
#3. Heat a stainless steel pan and lightly coat it with oil spray to reduce excess calories.
#4. Stir-fry the cabbage and potatoes, seasoning with salt as they cook, until the potatoes are tender and the cabbage has softened.
#5. Add the shredded turkey ham and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until heated through.
#6. Create two small wells in the mixture and crack one egg into each well. Cover the pan and cook until the egg whites are set but the yolks remain runny (or cook to your preferred doneness).
#7. Finish with the chilli crisp and garnish with chopped herbs, if desired, for a high-protein meal you’ll make on repeat.

Savoury morning after Turkey turnovers

Makes 12 turnovers

Ingredients

2 eggs
2 tablespoons onion, finely chopped
2 cups leftover mashed potatoes or pumpkin
2 cups leftover stuffing
2 cups leftover turkey, chopped or shredded
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Coriander for garnish
Optional: tzatziki yogurt dip to accompany turnovers

Note: Feel free to use any other leftover meat or veggies in this recipe!

Method

#1. Lightly beat eggs, onions, potatoes, stuffing and turkey, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
#2. Heat butter and oil in a large skillet at medium heat.
#3. Scoop ½ cup of the mixture into the pan, and gently press and turn using a spatula. Fry on each side for about three minutes until golden brown.
#4. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
#5. Drain on paper towel, then serve warm

Turkey Thai chicken curry

Makes six servings

Ingredients for this turkey recipe

For the green curry paste

3 large, fresh green chillies, seeds removed and roughly chopped
Optional: 2 small green or red chilli padi (this will give it a spicy kick, so adjust according to taste)
4 whole spring onions, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
4 stems of fresh lemongrass (white part only), chopped
1 cup fresh coriander, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons prawn paste (can substitute with Marmite or Vegemite for seafood allergies)
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon salt

Note: The curry paste can be made up to one week ahead if stored in an airtight container, and can be refrigerated or frozen for four months.

Additional ingredients

750g shredded leftover Christmas turkey
250g snow peas, left whole
500ml coconut cream or milk (low fat coconut milk recommended)
½ cup coriander, stems and leaves roughly torn
1 teaspoon salt (add more if needed)

Note: Other veggies such as green beans, eggplant, potato, carrot and cauliflower can be added in, too!

Method

#1. Blend or process green curry paste ingredients until smooth.
#2. Stir green curry paste in pot until fragrant for about one to two minutes.
#3. Add snow peas and cook for one to two minutes, stirring continuously; don’t let it burn!
#4. Stir in coconut cream and bring to a boil; then let it simmer (uncovered) for one minute or until thickened.
#5. Add turkey and cook for five minutes with lid on until it’s heated through.
#6. Taste, and add more salt only if necessary.
#7. Garnish with coriander sprigs.
#8. Serve with rice.

Turkey Cranberry Borek (Pie)

Makes six to eight servings

Ingredients for this turkey recipe

1 onion, sliced
Olive oil
2 cloves garlic
½ to 1 teaspoon chilli flakes, or just enough to taste (or use fresh chilli if you prefer)
2 teaspoons ras el hanout (a North African spice mix)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Black pepper
650g cooked turkey, shredded (or 800g fresh turkey breast fillet, chopped into cubes)
50g dried apricots, coarsely chopped
50g dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
50g pistachios, coarsely chopped
50g ground almonds
25g flaked almonds
300ml boiling water
2 tablespoons fresh coriander
50g melted butter • 8 sheets filo pastry
Optional: a few fresh cranberries for decoration

You will also need:

A deep-sided cake tin, ideally spring loaded
A pastry brush

Method

#1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
#2. For the filling, fry olive oil and onion in a deep frying pan for five minutes until softened, but not browned.
#3. Add the garlic, chilli, black pepper, cinnamon and ras el hanout, and fry for an additional minute; add the cooked, shredded turkey, apricots, cranberries, pistachios, ground almonds and water, and stir thoroughly.
Note: If your turkey isn’t cooked, simply panfry the cubed fresh turkey breast for about 5 minutes, or until cooked through, then shred and continue with step #2.
#4. Simmer gently for about three minutes until the sauce thickens, then turn off the heat.
#5. For the pie, brush the tin with melted butter and lay the first sheet of filo in the dish so that it covers the base and some of the side, with the rest hanging over the sides. Brush more melted butter over the parts of the pastry that are touching the tin, and lay another sheet of filo half overlapping the first one, but covering the entire base. Then, continue around the tin until the base is covered with seven layers of filo and all of the sides are covered (and you have lots of pastry flopping over the sides with melted butter between each layer!). Save one sheet of filo for the top.
#6. Pour all filling inside the pie, then fold the hanging flaps back in, scrunching the filo as you do so. Brush with melted butter, then take the last sheet of filo, scrunch it up and place on top. Give the top a really good brush of butter, then place your pie in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.
#7. Remove the pie from the oven and scatter with flaked almonds. Return the pie to the oven for an additional 10 minutes, or until the pastry is crisp and nicely browned on top.
#8. Serve with salad.

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