Left-over Turkey Dilemma

We fix a turkey for Thanksgiving every year and always have the same dilemma. What should we do with the left-overs? The white meat automatically goes to sandwiches, which we love more than the roasted turkey itself. The problem is with the dark meat. Most years we make a turkey curry which turns it into an exotic but strong dish. If you would like a copy of the turkey curry, email me and I’ll send it to you. It’s a fast and easy dish.

This time we went another route and tried turkey hash. The recipe below is our version of Martha Stewart’s Pepper Turkey Hash that I found searching for recipes on the internet. In the right column are listed an extensive number of search sites and also food blogs that I follow.

Martha used more peppers that we did and ground turkey instead of left over dark meat. We also added a little oregano plus red wine vinegar in the end to give it the spark it needed. This is ideal for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Turkey Hash

While it is tempting to substitute green peppers, the red & yellow ones are sweeter where the green ones can overpower dishes.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 medium Idaho potato (about 9 ounces), peeled, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 red and 1 yellow bell pepper, seeds removed, cut into 1/2-inch dice
8 ounces button mushrooms, stems trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
16 ounces left over cooked dark meat turkey
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 cup chicken broth, more if hash is dry
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
6 large eggs (optional), poached or "fried" in a nonstick skillet

Heat olive oil in a large nonstick sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, carrot and potato. Cook until vegetables soften and begin to brown, 6 to 7 minutes.
Reduce heat to medium. Add bell peppers and mushrooms, and cook until vegetables are just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add turkey; sauté until cooked through. Sprinkle with flour; stir to combine.

Add sherry; scrape any browned bits from pan. Cook until most liquid has evaporated. Add broth, salt, black pepper, chili powder, paprika, and oregano; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; cook until liquid thickens and reduces by half. Stir in parsley and red wine vinegar. Serve hot, topped with egg if using. Serves 6.