Last week, during the perfunctory water cooler “any plans for Thanksgiving weekend?” conversation, I found myself actually complaining about having not one or two, but three turkey dinners happening over the long weekend. Truly. It was very dramatic, with lots of eye rolling, and it went something like, “Ugh, I have one on Sunday and Monday with family, and then friends are doing one on Saturday, and I just can’t handle all that turkey and stuffing and gravy, I will just die.” I know, I know: first world problems. I kind of wanted to punch myself in the face as soon as the words came out of my mouth.
In any event, I think we can all agree that Thanksgiving is about stuffing your face with delicious carbs and fat and feeling great about it, and then feeling not so great about it when you’re eating your fifth turkey sandwich for lunch the following week. I call this “leftover fatigue” (I say that like I use the phrase all the time but actually I just made it up this second). If you’re wondering how to cure this affliction you didn’t know you were suffering from until just now, I have the answer: stop making sandwiches.
Yes, everyone has a special way of making leftover turkey sandwiches (mine are usually more like a “bread is the new meat” sandwich consisting mostly of stuffing). But there are far more exciting things to do with your leftovers. One of my favourites: take leftover stuffing, form it into a patty, fry it until crispy on both sides and top with a soft poached egg. Or, take mashed potatoes, get some smoked trout and chopped arugula and mix it together, form patties, dip in egg wash and coat with breadcrumbs and fry those up, serve with a lemony aioli or tartar sauce. Also good: chop up some turkey, mix it with stuffing and cranberry sauce and gravy, then wrap the mixture in puff pastry and bake to make Thanksgiving turnovers. And if you need to detox, all of the above can be served with a side salad.
This week’s recipe deals primarily with your leftover turkey meat, turning it into a quick enchilada “casserole” that can serve as a whole new weeknight meal (you can also do this with a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken). Layering the tortillas and ingredients like a lasagna removes the time-consuming step of individually stuffing and rolling each enchilada, and the sauce is a snap to whip up (though if you are feeling lazy, you can always purchase prepared enchilada sauce, which is still pretty good). Use any of your favourite toppings to go with — guacamole, sour cream, salsa, hot sauce.
Leftover Turkey Enchilada Casserole
Serves 4-6
1 28 oz can diced or whole tomatoes, drained
1 onion, cut into wedges
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp chili powder
2 cups chicken stock
Juice of 1 lime
18 small corn tortillas
4 cups cooked turkey, pulled
1 19 oz can black beans, rinsed
3 cups grated Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
Handful chopped cilantro
Choice of toppings (salsa, guacamole, sour cream, hot sauce)
1. Preheat oven to 350 F and grease a 9 x 13 glass baking dish.
2. To make sauce, combine tomatoes, onion, garlic, jalapeno pepper, cumin, chili powder and stock in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer for about 15 minutes. Squeeze in lime juice to taste and remove. Blend until smooth.
3. While sauce simmers, combine turkey and black beans in a large mixing bowl and prep remaining ingredients.
4. Reserve 1½ cups of the sauce, and mix the rest in with the turkey and bean mixture to coat. Stir in cilantro.
5. Layer six tortillas on the bottom of the baking dish, overlapping where necessary. Top with half the turkey mixture, then scatter one third of the cheese on top. Repeat with another layer of tortillas, turkey and cheese. Place a final layer of tortillas over top and scatter with remaining cheese, then pour reserved sauce evenly over top.
6. Bake for about 30 minutes, until bubbling and top begins to brown a little. Cool for 5 minutes, then cut into squares and serve with desired toppings.
Sara Chan is a Toronto-based entertainment lawyer, food enthusiast, unprofessional home chef and even less professional food photographer. Her favourite food group is pork. Sara’s column appears every other Tuesday here on lawandstyle.ca.