Turkey Stew

I was feeling patriotic after the 4th of July and decided to make this stew. My first introduction to American food was around Thanksgiving, so in my mind American equals harvest foods hahaha. Either way this light stew is perfect for the summer, especially since these ingredients are available all year round. The rutabaga is hardest to find, but oh so worth it! It’s also a great way to use leftover turkey or chicken. The original recipe is from The New American Plate. It’s jam packed with potent antioxidants, as well as a loaded dose of Vitamins A and C. The only changes I’ve made are really just in the seasoning. If you want to keep it low calorie stick with breast meat, but I gotta say using thigh (dark) meat is damned delicious. I most often make this stew with chicken breast. You can really use whatever you want, as long as it comes out to about 2 cups of cooked poultry.  

INGREDIENTS makes 4 servings

2 cups diced cooked turkey (or chicken) OR 1 uncooked turkey breast (or 2 chicken breasts) OR 2 uncooked turkey drumsticks

1 Tbs canola oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 large carrot, peeled and sliced

1 celery rib, sliced

1 medium rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1-in pieces

1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth, plus more as needed

1 bay leaf

2 large sweet apples, peeled and cut into 1-in pieces

1 large (or 2 small) orange-flesh sweet potatoes (if using a different variety may want to cook them ahead of time)

1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried rosemary

1/2 tsp dried sage

3 – 4 juniper berries (optional)

3 tsp salt, or to taste

1/3 cup pumpkin seeds (without shells of course!)

(4 – 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth + 1 tsp thyme + salt to taste if starting with raw turkey drumsticks)

(1 Tbs canola oil + poultry seasoning + salt to taste if starting with raw breast meat)

INSTRUCTIONS

• (4 – 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth + 1 tsp thyme + salt to taste if starting with raw turkey drumsticks)
• (1 Tbs canola oil + poultry seasoning + salt to taste if starting with raw breast meat)

1. If you’re starting with raw meat, cook it first.

For the turkey drumsticks: Place 4 – 6 cups of chicken or vegetable broth in a pot with a lid, and place the turkey drumsticks inside. If the liquid doesn’t quite cover the drumsticks, add water until it does. Season the broth with 1 tsp thyme, and about 1 Tbs salt (or to taste, depending on how salty the broth is to start with). Bring the pot to a boil on high, reduce to a simmer, and cook the turkey until tender, about 1 hour. Once finished, remove the turkey, and dice the meat into bite sized pieces. You should have about 2 cups to set aside. If it’s not too salty, you can use the left over broth for the rest of the recipe.

For turkey or chicken breast: Dice the meat into bite sized pieces. In a medium nonstick frying pan, heat 1 Tbs canola oil. Add the meat to the pan once the oil is heated. Sprinkle the meat with 1 tsp poultry seasoning (or to taste) and 1 tsp salt (or to taste). Saute the meat until cooked and tender, about 7 – 10 min. Remove from the pan and set aside.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

• 1 Tbs canola oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
• 1 celery rib, sliced
• 1 medium rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1-in pieces

3. In a Duch oven, or large heavy ovenproof pan, heat the canola oil over medium high heat, until glistening. Add the onion and saute for about 4 min until tender. Add the carrot, celery, and rutabaga. Reduce the heat to medium low, cover and cook for about 10 min, until the vegetables are barely tender.

• 1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth, plus more as needed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp dried sage
• 3 – 4 juniper berries (optional)
• 1 – 2 tsp salt, or to taste

4. Add the broth, bay leaf, thyme, rosemary, sage, and juniper. If the broth is not salty enough add about 1 – 2 tsp salt, or to taste. I use regular chicken broth (not low sodium) and usually add about 3 tsp salt total to this recipe, but I tend to like it heavy on the salt side. Cover the pot, place in the oven, and bake for 10 min.

• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• 2 large sweet apples, peeled and cut into 1-in pieces
• 1 large (or 2 small) orange-flesh sweet potatoes (if using a different variety may want to cook them ahead of time)
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
• 2 cups of cooked turkey
• extra broth or water, if necessary

5. Remove the pot from the oven and add the apples, sweet potatoes, cranberries, and turkey. If the liquid in the pot doesn’t cover most of the stew, add a little more until the liquid just covers most of the stew. Add salt if needed. Cover and bake for 15 – 20 min until the vegetables are tender and the turkey is heated through. If using a different variety of sweet potato, such as the light-flesh kind instead of the orange-flesh kind, you may want to cook it ahead of time. The light-flesh kind takes a lot longer to cook (up to 40 min) and will not be done before the other vegetables get over cooked.

• 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds (without shells of course!)

6. Once the stew is finished, remove the bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Divide out the stew into 4 bowls and sprinkle evenly with the pumpkin seeds to serve. Watch out for the juniper berries while eating!