Pantry: Delicious ideas for your Thanksgiving leftovers

Several people I know like to cook a turkey for the holidays not so much because they love the main meal but because they want the leftovers.

Some prefer to stick with the traditional flavors, with hot turkey sandwiches slathered with gravy and topped with stuffing and cranberry sauce. Others prefer to make stock out of the carcass and then enjoy turkey gumbo, turkey risotto and turkey soup, all of which I love and make fairly often.

My favorite soup, which you can find at Eat This Now at pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com, is turkey barley.

Another option is to make curry and there are so many ways to do so, all with delicious results. When I’m in an East India sort of mood, these are my favorite dishes at this time of year.

And on that note, I’d like to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. This year I’ll think of all of you, as I am deeply grateful for all who read this column and especially those who take the time to email or write, even when you disagree with something I’ve written.

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Classic English Mulligatawny Soup is typically made with chicken but there is no reason at all not to make it with turkey. If you use dark meat, it will actually be better than when it is made with chicken breast. The soup’s name has an interesting history, though it’s not possible to confirm it. It supposedly came from Tamil Nadu, a state in southern India that is the home of true pepper, or piper nigrum. Tamil is the language of the native population, also known as Tamil, and their expression for “pepper water,” molaga-tanni, is said to be the source of the name. As the story goes, a British colonist requested some more of that “mulligatawny,” referring to a spicy soup he’d enjoyed. Countless versions have been made since that first awkward request, though the main characteristics - a mild spiciness and heat, a bit of sweetness from apples, and chicken - are constants. In this version, I sauté the apples and use them as a garnish instead of incorporating them into the soup.

Turkey Mulligatawny Soup

Serves 4 to 6

1 cup raw jasmine rice

4 tablespoons clarified butter (ghee)

2 firm sweet-tart apples, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch lengthwise slices

1 tablespoon curry powder, commercial or homemade

1 teaspoon ground cumin

- Black pepper in a mill

- One 2-inch piece cinnamon

1 yellow onion, minced

2 carrots, peeled and minced

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon grated ginger

1 teaspoon turmeric

¾ teaspoon ground cardamom

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, plus more to taste

- Kosher salt

1 cup fruity white wine

4 cups turkey stock

6 cups cooked turkey meat, torn into bite-sized pieces

- One 14-ounce can coconut milk

- Whole milk yogurt

- Chopped cilantro leaves

- Chutney of choice

Put the rice in a strainer or colander and rinse it under cool running water until the water runs clear. Put the rice in a large saucepan with 1 ½ cups cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and simmer for 20 minutes without lifting the lid. Remove from the heat and let the rice steam undisturbed for 10 minutes before fluffing with a fork. Fluff the rice, cover, and set aside while you prepare the soup.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the clarified butter in a large soup pot.

Cut the apple slices in half crosswise, add them to the pot along with a pinch of curry powder, a pinch of cumin and several turns of black pepper. Add the cinnamon stick. Sauté until the apples are tender and golden brown. Use a metal spatula to transfer the apples to a plate or bowl, leaving the cinnamon stick behind.

Add the remaining clarified butter to the pot and, when it is melted, add the onion and carrots, and sauté over medium-low heat until very soft and fragrant, about 15 minutes. Stir in the garlic and ginger, sauté 2 minutes more, add the curry powder, cumin, turmeric, cardamom and cayenne and cook for 2 minutes. Season with salt and several very generous turns of black pepper.

Increase the heat to high, add the wine and cook until it is nearly completely reduced. Add the turkey stock, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Stir in the turkey and coconut milk and heat through. Remove from the heat, taste and correct for salt, pepper and spice, adding more cayenne if you like its heat.

Use tongs to remove and discard the cinnamon stick. If the soup is too thick for your tastes, thin with a little stock or water and reheat thoroughly.

Divide the rice among individual bowls and ladle the soup over it. Top each portion with a generous spoonful of yogurt, some of the sautéed apples and cilantro leaves. Serve immediately, with the chutney alongside.

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Curried chicken salad comes in and out of fashion and has, in the United States, for decades. It was common in the 1940s and 1950s, faded away in the 1970s, emerged again in the 1980s and on and on it goes. Turkey prepared similarly is a perfect way to use your leftover Thanksgiving bird.

Curried Turkey Salad

Serves 6 to 8

- Curry Mayonnaise, recipe follows

6 cups cooked turkey, torn into bite-sized pieces

¾ cup golden raisins

¾ cup roasted shelled pistachios

½ cup fresh pomegranate arils

½ cup chopped cilantro leaves

- Kosher salt

- Black pepper in a mill

8 large butter lettuce leaves

- Whole-milk yogurt

- Chutney of choice

Make the curry mayonnaise up to a day in advance of preparing the salad.

Put the turkey into a large mixing bowl, add the raisins and pistachios and toss together thoroughly. Add half the pomegranate arils, half the cilantro and toss again.

Fold in the mayonnaise. Taste and correct for salt and pepper.

To serve, set lettuce leaves on individual plates and top them with some of the salad. Scatter the remaining pomegranate arils and cilantro leaves on top, add a dollop of yogurt and a tiny dollop of chutney and enjoy right away.

The salad will keep, covered and refrigerated, for 3 to 4 days.

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This recipe, which I’ve been making for years, is adapted from my book “Vinaigrettes & Other Dressings” (Harvard Common Press, 2014). The important thing here is to cook the spices first. I see a lot of recipes online, including by extremely well-known chefs, that leave out this step. But if you don’t want your salad to have the taste and texture of raw spices, you must cook them first.

Curry Mayonnaise

Makes about 1 ¼ cups

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons minced yellow onion

2 teaspoons hot curry powder

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

- Pinch of cayenne pepper

- Kosher salt

- Black pepper in a mill

¾ cup best-quality mayonnaise

Put the olive oil into a small saute pan, add the onion and saute over medium-low heat until it is limp and fragrant, about 7 minutes; do not let it brown. Stir in the curry powder, ginger, cumin, cardamom, turmeric and pinch of cayenne and cook for 2 minutes, stirring all the while. Season with salt and black pepper, remove from the heat and let cool completely.

Put the mayonnaise into a small bowl, fold in the spice mixture, taste, correct for salt, pepper and heat, cover and chill thoroughly. The mayonnaise will keep about 1 week.

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For authentic flavor, it is essential to use garlic and onion powder, no matter how counterintuitive it feels. If you omit them or substitute fresh, you’ll have an excellent dish but it will lack the traditional flourish these ingredients contribute.

Turkey Gumbo

Serves 6 to 8

8 cups turkey stock (see Note below)

1/2 cup duck fat, lard, peanut oil or clarified butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 yellow onion, cut into small dice

1 green bell pepper, cut into small dice

4 large celery ribs, cut into small dice

2 tablespoons file powder (ground dried sassafras, also known as gumbo file)

2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/8 teaspoon chipotle powder or ground cayenne

1 pound andouille, kielbasa or other smoked sausage, cut into medium dice

6 to 8 garlic cloves, minced

8 ounces okra, cut into 1/2-inch thick rounds, optional

4 to 6 cups cooked turkey, preferably dark meat, cut into medium dice

6 1/2 to 7 cups steamed white rice (from 2 cups raw rice), hot

Fresh sage leaves and minced fresh sage, for garnish, optional

Put the turkey stock in a large pot, set it over medium heat, bring it to a boil and cook until it is reduced to just three cups. Set aside.

Put the fat, butter or oil in a large heavy skillet or Dutch oven set over medium-high heat. When it just begins to smoke, use a long-handled whisk to stir the flour, about 2 tablespoons at a time, into the hot oil. Stir constantly as the flour begins to color. (If black specks appear, the flour has burned; discard the mixture and begin again.) When the mixture is a dark reddish-brown, remove it from the heat and immediately use a wooden spoon to stir in the onion, green pepper and celery, holding your head back and protecting your stirring arm so that the cloud of hot steam that rises does not burn you. Continue to stir as the roux cools and ceases to darken, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the file powder, 1 teaspoon of the salt, the onion powder, the garlic powder, the black and white pepper and the chipotle powder or cayenne.

Return the stock to the heat and bring it to a boil. Add the roux, a large spoonful at a time, whisking after each addition. Add the sausage and garlic, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

While the gumbo simmers, fry the okra, if using, in a heavy pan set over medium heat until it releases its liquid and that liquid evaporates. Remove from the heat.

Add the turkey and the sautéed okra and simmer 20 minutes more. Taste and correct for salt and pepper. The gumbo is best after it has rested for a day so, if you can, let it cool and refrigerate it, covered, overnight.

Remove from the refrigerator and transfer to a large, heavy-bottomed pot to heat through.

To serve, ladle the gumbo into individual soup plates and top each portion with a generous scoop of rice. Garnish with sage leaves and minced sage, if using, and serve.

Note: To make turkey stock, put a turkey carcass and any meaty bones, along with the neck and gizzard, into a large soup pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat and skim off any foam that forms on the surface of the water. Reduce the heat and simmer gently without stirring for several hours, until the carcass falls apart, adding more water as needed to keep the carcass submerged. Strain the stock into a large bowl. Clean the pot, return the strained stock to it, set over medium heat and simmer until reduced to just 8 cups. Cool completely before storing in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days or packing into freezer bags and freezing for up to 1 year.

Michele Anna Jordan has written 17 books to date, including “Vinaigrettes and Other Dressings.” Email Jordan at michele@saladdresser.com. You’ll find her blog, “Eat This Now,” at pantry.blogs.pressdemocrat.com.