Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Turkey Tetrazzini-esque

Your average turkey tetrazzini calls for salt-and-who-knows-what-else-laden cans of condensed soup. Ick. Full stop.
In my search for a non-gross recipe I came across an unassuming site that had what appeared to be a nice little recipe to base my casserole off of. The original called for a can of sliced mushrooms...a no-no in our house due to Monster Law.
NO MUSHIES. None. Ever. Okaaaaay. I had a beautiful bunch of Swiss chard in the fridge, along with a couple of zukes that needed using...in they went.
I didn't have the evaporated milk called for, so just cooked down, stirring constantly, 3 cups of unsweetened soy until I had 1 1/2 cups of liquid (12 oz worth). Fat-free cheese originally called for? No. Cave-aged Gruyere? YES! :-)
I might add that the impetus for making a casserole came from the need to use up some awesome Central Market in-house roasted Provencal turkey lunch meat coated with herbs (that I'd bought too much of). Don't you just love fridge cleaner meals? They really can leave you feeling quite virtuous.
Oh one more thing, if you can't get a turkey that's coated in herbs de Provence, then you might consider adding some when the onions and garlic are sauteeing.

Turkey Tetrazzini-esque:
(Based off a recipe gleaned from Mehani's Kitchen)

5 oz spelt elbows, cooked (original called for 8 oz whole wheat spaghetti, cooked...any whole grain pasta should be great)
2 cups chopped, cooked turkey (I just used what I had and it was sliced for sammies. I'll make this again and buy a turkey steak to dice)
1 cup chopped onion
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 cups organic reduced salt chicken broth
1 can fat-free evaporated milk
1 bunch of Swiss chard, de-stemmed and chopped
1 large zucchini, diced and sauteed over high heat in a bit of olive oil til it gets a little color on it.
1 TBS olive oil
3 TBS cornstarch
salt
pepper
grated cheese (Cave-aged Gruyere cheese = NOM)

Heat a large skillet you have a cover for. Add wet chard along with a little extra liquid (chicken broth or water) and braise for about 5 min, or until chard is wilted and tender. Drain and squeeze to get much of the liquid out of the chard. Chop after it's cooled a bit.

Saute up your zucchini in olive oil with a bit of salt and set aside.

Cook pasta for the minimum time if using spelt elbows (5 min), drain, and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine cornstarch and chicken broth until smooth. Heat a small dab of butter and ~1Tbs of olive oil in a non-stick skillet.
Saute onion and garlic until tender. Add chicken broth/cornstarch mixture and cook until thickened.
Stir in milk and cook for 2 - 3 minutes.
Turn off heat and add chard, zucchini, turkey, and pasta, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add the mix into a lightly greased casserole.
Sprinkle grated cheese over the turkey noodle mix, then cover with foil.
Bake at 350 for ~20, then remove foil and bake for ~10 minutes more, or until hot and bubbly.
Place about 6 inches from broiler, and broil until lightly browned.

3 comments:

Mike said...

Have to say I fully agree with Monster Law on that one!

Beth said...

We made this last night and had some friends over. It was a BIG hit, we'll definitely make it again. It's a great recipe to just throw in whatever quantities you have.

Erndog said...

So glad you guys liked it! :-)