Turkey and White Bean Soup

Turkey with Wild Mushroom Sauce

Turkey and Porcini Risotto

Turkey and Rice Croquettes

Although I usually shop for food daily, last weekend I bought large quantities of fresh produce from one of our farm stands, prior to its closing for the season (fortunately, there are still others which stay open until New Years).  I bought kale, broccoli, butternut squash, pears, carrots, shallots, with the intention of making creative use of my leftover turkey all week long.

One of the best things about roasting a turkey (and the accompanying bones) is the opportunity to make stock.  When I have fresh stock in the refrigerator, I feel the call of quick and easy soups using a variety of ingredients.

My turkey and white bean soup began by simply peeling and dicing a potato and carrot, and placing them in a quart of cold stock.  I brought them to a boil and allowed them to simmer for 15 minutes.  I then diced a cup of turkey meat and added it to the simmering soup, along with a can of drained white beans and a cup of cooked kale, sliced into small ribbons (you could substitute raw baby spinach).  A drizzle of olive oil and some grated parmigiano were all that were necessary to turn this lunch into something extraordinary.

For dinner the following evening, I decided to make a moist medium in which to simmer some slices of the cooked turkey breast.  My Salsa di Funghi was the perfect sauce for this.  Once the sauce was at the right consistency, I added in some slices of stuffed turkey breast and simmered, covered for about 10 minutes.

We began this meal with a salad of pears, watercress, blue cheese and toasted walnuts.

Another of my favorite reasons to have homemade stock in my refrigerator is to make risotto.  I still had some beautiful porcini that my mother brought back from Calabria over a year ago.

In addition to the porcini, I added a cup of diced turkey breast to the risotto, to make this a hearty main dish.  For the recipe and technique, see my Porcini Risotto.  At the end of the cooking process, before covering the risotto, simply add a cupful of diced turkey breast.

As a first course to this meal, I made a salad of baby arugula, thinly sliced pears and shaved rosemary-laced manchego–sweet, earthy and fresh.

The leftovers from my risotto led me to my all-time favorite product of recycling–Beppi’s Crochette di Riso–rice croquettes.  I’ve diced up the remaining turkey meat and put it in these croquettes (made from the porcini risotto).

To accompany the croquettes, I made a salad of watercress and clementines, dressed with red wine vinegar and olive oil.