Turkey Tetrazzini
With the passing Thanksgiving season, we are all left to wonder just what the heck we can do with all of these leftovers from our big feast, an issue that we seem to face after any holiday season in fact.
Of course you could just reheat those leftovers, but why do that when you can transform at least some of these leftovers into an equally stunning dish? Today I will share with you an Italian-American classic that perfectly utilizes one of the holiday season’s most iconic birds, turkey tetrazzini.
Turkey tetrazzini is a classic pasta bake that consists of leftover turkey, cheese, veggies, and a ton of other delicious things. I’ve honestly never made turkey tetrazzini prior to writing this article and am not sure I’ve ever had it, but I’m into the flavors and I think I can pull it off! Plus it seems like a delicious way to use up leftover holiday turkey!
Now, there are many, many variations to this recipe, some include canned cream of chicken soup, some have artichokes, some use broccoli or green beans, all of those sound good, but I’m going with what I think would work for me.
Let’s do it!
Serves 4 to 6
Time: 1 1/2 hours
Difficulty: Easy
12 oz spaghetti or any pasta that’s in your pantry
Salt
12 oz white button mushrooms, thinly sliced
8 oz unsalted butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 large celery stalks, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups chicken or turkey broth
1/4 cup dry white wine or dry sherry
3 cups cooked turkey, roughly chopped
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
2/3 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1/3 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Freshly ground black Pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
1/3 cup dry breadcrumbs
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F/190 C and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook for 7-9 minutes, or until al dente. Drain, then set aside.
While the pasta cooks, melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan, then add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until the water in the mushrooms evaporates and they start to brown. Remove from the pot and set aside.
Melt 4 more tablespoons of butter in the same pot, then add the onion, celery, and a pinch of salt. Cook over medium-low until the veggies soften, about 3 minutes, then sprinkle in the flour. Cook for another minute, stirring constantly, then add the milk, cream, broth and wine.
Bring to a boil then let it simmer for a few minutes, or until it starts to thicken.
In a large bowl, combine the mushrooms, sauce, turkey, peas, 1/3 cup of Parmigiano and the Gruyere. Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg (if using) to taste. Dump everything into a buttered casserole dish.
In a small bowl, combine the breadcrumbs with remaining 1/3 cup of Parmigiano and sprinkle that on top. Finally, cut the remaining tablespoon of butter into small cubes and dot that on top of the breadcrumbs. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the breadcrumbs on top are golden. Let it cool about 10 minutes before serving.
