Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope fun was had by all in AZ! We had a great meal with E's family in RVA. Our turkey turned out truly fantastically, but we ended up with a great big bird
(13 pounds for 4 adults). The turkey was amazing, and the Bean thought it was the best thing ever with a little bit of cranberry "jelly".
Now that we've feasted, we're trying to enjoy the rest of our turkey without eating sandwiches, because those are just boring day in and day out. We've already made stock, and we saved most of one breast in one piece for another big meal. For the rest of it, we're thinking of clever ideas. Tonight we made soup. I modified one of my favorite soup recipes by throwing in turkey and a bunch of vegetables. It was a tonic to warm the belly and cure what ails you.
Tunisian Turkey Stew
2 T butter
1 cup yellow split peas (or lentils)
1 onion, finely diced
1 cup carrot pennies
1 T curry powder
1 inch ginger, chopped coarsely
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp salt
2 dried chiles, whole
1 cinnamon stick
4 cups turkey stock
1 14 oz can chopped tomatoes
4 - 6 cups cubed turkey (I just cubed a good sized mixture of dark and light)
1 cup frozen spinach
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)
1. In a soup pot on medium heat, saute onions and carrots with spices (save cinnamon stick) in butter for 5-8 minutes, until onions are soft.
2. In a second sauce pot, cook split peas or lentils in 2 cups of water, with the cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, and partially cover. cook at a low simmer for about 30 minutes. Lentils are very foamy, so watch out when you first reach a boil that you don't boil the pot over.
3. In the soup pot, add tomatoes, turkey broth, turkey cubes, and spinach. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
4. Add the lentils and any remaining cooking water, and heat all together for 5 - 20 minutes more.
