Turkey Avgolemono

Back to this week's turkey. Or at least, what is left of it.

I've never been able to just toss out what remains of a turkey after I've carved all the meat off it. I have to make stock out of it. It seems to be a compulsion of sorts. One that I think my mother shares, as she will start a pot of chicken stock on my stove moments before catching a plane back to her home in London. She seemingly can't leave the country without first ensuring that any leftover rotisserie chicken that might be lurking around in the fridge are properly simmering in a pot. I have to mention that this habit of hers, making and then abandoning stocks, nearly set fire to the kitchen once.

Anyway, before I enter full on ramble mode, let's get on to what I did with my turkey stock. As much as I love good ol' fashioned traditional turkey noodle soup, I need to mix it up a little sometimes. I need some turkey avgolemono.

Literally meaning 'egg-lemon' in Greek, this soup is essentially that; rice (or orzo) in a stock thickened with egg and flavored with lemon juice. I discovered it while working for a Greek chef named Fifi almost a decade ago, she served it in her restaurant from time to time and it always ran out before the dinner rush ended, usually because the floor staff were eating so much of it.

I eventually got the Cliffs-Notes version of her recipe and have been able to replicate her soup. While this recipe calls for chicken it works equally well with turkey.

Not so Humble's Turkey Avgolemono:
8 cups turkey stock
1 cup uncooked white rice (preferably short grain)
4 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice (though I usually add a bit more)
2 cups cooked and roughly chopped turkey meat (optional)
salt
pepper

Bring the turkey stock to a boil and add the rice. Simmer covered for 20 minutes, stir in the turkey and remove from heat.

In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, egg yoke, olive oil and lemon juice until smooth. Temper the egg mixture by slowly adding one cup of the hot soup while whisking continuously. Pour this mixture back into the pot and stir gently. The soup should have a smooth, creamy appearance now. Salt and pepper the soup to taste. Serve garnished with parsley or dill and a drizzle of olive oil.

If the soup is reheated or stored the texture will change ever so slightly, so it is best served immediately. However, don't let that that stop you from eating leftover Avgolemono, the flavor will still remain the same.

Early Bird: Pre-Thanksgiving Turkey

All done with the my near-freebie turkey. Thankfully, it is now a much more manageable size with the meat removed and the carcass simmering away in my stock pot. Thats right, there will be a soup post in the near future. Going to turn my birdie buddy into my favorite Greek soup tomorrow if time allows.

Anyway, on to how we dealt with this enormous turkey.


Look at that beast! Almost too wide for my biggest roasting pan.

So I went with a simple, reliable approach for this unplanned turkey. Herbs and lots of lots of butter, smeared under the skin to keep the flesh moist and flavorful. It is hard to go wrong with that. Though, can you go wrong with a dish when 'lots and lots' of butter is involved? I think not.



Not so Humble's Basic Herb Butter Rub:

I cup of unsalted butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 clove garlic minced

Cream the mixture together and set aside. Now comes the fun part, where you get really familiar with your dinner. Starting from the neck cavity, slip your hand in between the breast and the skin of your turkey, separating any connective tissue. Get all the way to the other end of the breast making a pocket for all that yummy butter. Repeat on the other breast. Now, take about half the butter and slather it all over both breasts under the skin, using the pockets you've made. Take the rest of the butter and thoroughly rub it over the outside of the bird and inside the cavity. This part is a bit icky, I know. I didn't want to spend my morning elbow deep in a cold turkey, but some things just have to be done. Besides, if the girl who passed out twice in highschool biology can do it, so can you.

I then take 8-10 whole fresh sage leaves and slip them under the skin, arranging them best I can to look pleasing once the turkey is baked. They are hard to see now, but once the turkey is cooked the skin will be crispy, golden and near transparent. The leaves will then show, making a pretty, edible mosaic under the skin. Once that is finished I sprinkle the bird with more kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, stuff some of my remaining fresh sage and parsley into the cavity and it is ready to hit the oven.



Cook at 325°F for however long necessary for the weight of your bird. Check occasionally to see how it is browning, tent with foil towards the end of the cooking if the breast is darkening too quickly. Once the thickest part of the thigh hits 165°F your turkey is ready. Allow the bird to sit for about 20 minutes before carving so the juices can saturate the meat.

The end result should be a moist, flavorful bird with very crispy skin.

Street Food Munchies: Curry Puff

I had a sheet of puff pastry left over from last night's hand pies, so I opted to quickly whip up some curry puffs this morning.

They are a ubiquitous street food in both Singapore and Malaysia, filled with... well just about anything. I've also had these stuffed with a chicken curry mixture my favorite local dim sum place. My version replicates the puffs served at the Chinese dim sum place (baked, not deep fried and topped with toasted sesame seeds), though I believe authentic Chinese curry puffs (咖哩角) are closer to the Malay version than this Seattle dim sum dish. Nevertheless, that doesn't make my somewhat inauthentic curry puffs any less good.

Stuffed with saute onions, potatoes, chicken and spices these things get gobbled up as quickly at home as they do over cups of tea on Sunday mornings in Seattle's international district.

Pasta with Brown Butter, Sage and Nutmeg

This is one of those wonderful pasta dishes that can be thrown together in a pinch from a handful of ingredients that one tends to have on hand. The simple mixture of brown butter, fresh sage and nutmeg creates a marvelously aromatic meal. So satisfying that I tend to overindulge, resulting in my sinking into one of those warm and fuzzy starch induced comas.

Oh yes, I want to go to there.

Not so Humble Pie's Pasta with Brown Butter, Sage and Nutmeg:

2 cups penne pasta
1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
6 tablespoons butter
15-18 small fresh sage leaves
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
salt
pepper
Parmesan

Serves 2-4

Prepare the pasta according to package directions. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and place the butter in a skillet over medium high heat and cook until bubbly. Add the chicken and saute till butter darkens and the chicken has cooked through. Take a little more than half of the sage (reserve the smallest of the leaves to garnish with later) and slice them into thin strips and add to the chicken and butter. Sprinkle with the nutmeg and saute briefly until dish becomes aromatic.

Place the cooked and drained pasta into a bowl and add the Chicken, Sage and Brown butter mixture. Sprinkle with a generous amount of fresh ground pepper and salt (to taste) and toss well.

Serve the pasta topped with fresh parmesan shavings and a few of the remaining sage leaves.