Bon Appétit Serves Up Nine Fine Ideas for Leftover Turkey

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, so is that day when the feast is over and the guests have gone home – and you have a giant dish full of leftover turkey sitting in the refrigerator.  Sure, you could make turkey sandwiches — the classic way to use up leftovers — but the Bon Appétit team at Cisco-San Jose in San Jose, CA, has some more creative ideas. Since guests often ask for recipes from the chefs, this holiday season the team proactively provided customers with ideas of how to get the most out of their Thanksgiving meal.

They developed a packet of recipes titled “Turkey Redux” that use leftover turkey as the star ingredient — and include a spin on the classic turkey and cranberry sandwich). Turkey is low in fat and high in protein, so these recipes are delicious and nutritious!

The salad recipe below is the perfect antidote to post-Thanksgiving bloat.

Turkey with Black-eyed Pea Salad
Recipe by General Manager James Murdock of Stillwater Café (RTP)
Serves: 4

– 1 cup turkey, dark meat shredded
– 1 1/4 cup black-eyed peas, cooked
– 10 cups arugula or mixed greens
– 2 cloves garlic, minced
– 4 sprigs fresh thyme
– 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
– 1/3 cup pickles, sliced
– 4 tbsp pickle juice
– 4 each scallions, thinly sliced
– 1 tbsp whole grain mustard
– 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
– 2 stalks celery, chopped
– Kosher salt
– Cayenne pepper

Combine the garlic, thyme and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the black-eyed peas and 2 tablespoons pickle juice and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the turkey and heat through, about 3 more minutes.

Remove from heat and add the scallions, and salt and cayenne to taste. Discard the thyme.

Meanwhile, whisk the mustard and the remaining 2 tablespoons pickle juice in a large bowl. Add salt and cayenne to taste, then gradually whisk in the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil.

Add the tomatoes and toss. Add the arugula, celery and pickles and toss again. Top with the black-eyed peas and turkey.