Leftover Turkey and Seafood Paella

 

I hope everyone had a spectacular Turkey day. I was too busy eating so I unfortunately don't have any photos of the spread. *sadface* And I'm still recovering from my food coma. As for the actual turkey, I've never been too crazy about it the day of but I do love the leftovers. Aside from the always glorious post-Thanksgiving sandwich, the possibilities for the turkey are endless: soups, chilies, stir fries, casseroles, etc.

A paella is a little like a casserole in the sense that it is often served in the same vessel it's cooked in. I've adapted this paella recipe for leftover turkey but leftover roast chicken would work just as well. This recipe is made in a 6 quart Dutch oven because I don't have a paella pan nor do I have a open fire of orange branches and pine cones so I did the cooking in the oven.

Leftover Turkey and Seafood Paella
1 cup chicken or turkey stock
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled
1 pound seafood of choice or a mixture of shrimp, peeled and deveined, scallops, or squid
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch wide strips
Olive oil
8 or 9 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (2 generous tablespoons)
3 to 4 cups leftover turkey, coarsely shredded or chopped
8 ounces Spanish chorizo (can sub fresh chorizo or Portugese linguiça), sliced in half lengthwise then cut into 1/2 inch thick crescents on the bias
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups Valencia or Arborio rice or another short grain rice
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 cup dry white wine
2 dried bay leaf
Salt and ground black pepper
1 dozen or so mussels, scrubbed and debearded
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 C chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat the turkey broth in a small saucepan or in the microwave until hot and steaming but not boiling. Add the crumbled saffron to bloom and set aside.

Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until the oil is shimmering but not smoking. Add the pepper strips, stirring occasionally, and cook about 3 to 4 minutes or until the skin starts to blister and turn spotty black. Transfer the pepper to a small plate and set aside.

Turn the heat down to medium. Add 2 teaspoons of oil in the now empty Dutch oven and cook the chorizo until it starts to brown and fat begins to render, about 4 - 5 minutes. Add the onions and cook until the onions are soft, 3 - 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Then add the rice and stir until the Dutch oven contents are evenly mixed. Add the drained and chopped tomatoes, white wine, turkey stock and saffron mixture, bay leaf, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper and bring to boil stirring occasionally.

Cover the pot and transfer the pot to the oven and cook until the rice has absorbed almost all the liquid, about 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, remove the pot from the oven, mix in the cooked leftover shredded turkey and shrimp. Arrange the mussels hinged-side down into the rice, arrange the bell peppers in a pinwheel pattern. Cover and return the pot to the oven and cook until shrimp are opaque and mussels are opened, about 10 minutes.

Scatter the peas on top, cover, and let the paella stand for 5 minutes. Discard any mussels that haven't opened. Sprinkle with parsley and arrange lemon slices on top or serve them separately.

Braised Lamb Shanks and Saffron Pearl Couscous with Cranberries and Almonds

I always feel like I’m committing a culinary faux pas braising in the middle of June. I try my best to keep things seasonal but it just doesn’t happen when lamb shanks are on sale. How can I say no when there's marrow involved? Lamb shanks have to be braised (I honestly can't think of any other way to cook a shank cut) but I refuse to turn on the oven for 4 hours so I put the Le Creuset to good use on the stovetop.

I tied the lamb shanks so they would keep their shape while cooking but it was futile. After about an hour of cooking, the shanks contorted out of the strings entirely. Same thing happened when I made Osso Buco. meh, oh well.

Red Wine Braised Lamb Shank
2 lbs lamb shanks, roughly 2 1/2 to 3 inches thick
1 medium onion, small dice
1 medium carrot, small dice
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp tomato paste
3 - 4 large thyme sprigs
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 C dry red wine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Olive, vegetable, or canola oil
Water or chicken stock as needed
Chopped parsley or chiffonade basil for garnish

Salt and pepper the lamb shanks. Tie the shanks around the perimeter tightly with a piece of twine.

Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Brown the lamb shanks on all sides, paying particular attention to the two flat sides. Remove the shanks and set aside.

Turn the heat down to medium and add the diced onion, diced carrots, and a large pinch of salt to the pan. Cook the vegetables, stirring occasionally and scrape up the brown bits, until they are translucent. Then add the tomato paste and minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds to a minute for the tomato paste to slightly caramelize. Return the shanks and any accumulated juices to the pan, and add the red wine, thyme, bay leaf, some more salt and pepper, and enough chicken stock or water to barely cover the shanks. Bring the contents up to a boil first then lower the heat to a bare simmer. Cover and cook for 3 - 4 hours or until the shanks are falling apart soft.

When the shanks have finished cooking, gently take them out of the pan and set aside. Take out the bay leaves and the thyme sprig. Turn the heat up to medium and reduce the sauce by half or until it is thick and syrupy. Serve the sauce on top of the lamb shanks and top with a little chopped basil or parsley if desired.

This was the perfect opportunity to cook up the Israeli or pearl couscous I got from Trader Joes. I hate how expensive (8 oz. for $3) this stuff is because I am seriously hooked! It looks so cute and bubbly and each grain, though it's more like a pasta than a grain, is more distinct and has more chew than regular couscous. While looking for a cheaper source, I found a few items on Amazon but I don't want 12 8oz. boxes or one 22 pound bag of it, so the search continues.

I cooked the couscous in a little chicken stock with saffron and added some cranberries and some toasted almonds but pine nuts would be just as good. Next time, I would chop up the cranberries so they can mingle better with the couscous. Steven was really skeptical about the cranberries with the saffron but it really works. The recipe on the back of the couscous box called for raisins so I didn't see why I couldn't sub some cranberries instead. I've never been a fan of raisins but I can eat dried cranberries by the handful. It's one of the few things I can justify buying at Costco. But if raisins are your thing, by all means use them.

Saffron Israeli Couscous with Cranberries and Almonds
serves 4

8 oz. (about 1 1/3 C) Israeli Couscous
1 3/4 C + more if needed chicken stock
Large pinch of saffron
1/4 C dried cranberries, chopped
1/4 C toasted almond slices or slivers or pine nuts
2 Tbsp chopped chives (or sub with parsley)
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
2 Tbsp butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil

Steep the saffron threads in 1/4 cup of hot but not boiling chicken stock for 15 - 20 minutes.

Bring the remaining half cup of chicken stock to a boil and set aside.

Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the couscous and toast until the pasta is golden brown. Turn the heat down to low and add the saffron liquid, hot chicken stock and some salt and pepper and simmer covered until all of the liquid has been absorbed and the couscous is soft with a slight chew, add more stock or water if necessary, about 12 minutes.

Off heat stir in the cranberries, herbs, and tablespoon of butter. Season with more salt and pepper if needed. Top with toasted almonds or pine nuts.

Basil Fried Rice

Basil fried rice and pan fried salted mackerel

I made a lot of fried rice during the school year. That and ramen (I'm very particular about my ramen)were my staples. The only constants for fried rice is leftover rice, which we always have plenty of, and egg. I would argue you need some sort of herb, which most of the time means green onion, in this case basil, but again that's debatable. If I'm feeling particularly fancy, I'll throw in some seafood (Trader Joe's seafood mix is great for this) or veggies, in an attempt to be healthy. But simple is good too, and fried rice doesn't get simpler than this.

The fancy stuff: Seafood and Veggies Fried Rice with XO Sauce

The basil came from my Aerogarden, a nifty hydroponic tabletop garden. It's pretty sweet but really expensive. If I hadn't gotten it as a gift I would have never considered buying one.

It started as this... (week 2)

aww, so cute!

Grew into this... (week 3)

Then I forgot to keep track...

and it turned into this!

Ahh! (Mint, Basil, Dill, Thyme, Parsley, Purple Basil, and Chives)

It would have been a smarter move to start the Aerogarden in the fall so I could have fresh herbs in the Winter but I wanted to harvest it for E's wedding. I was delusional in thinking that a tabletop garden could produce enough herbs for dinner for 40. I guess I could be growing this stuff outside with all the lovely weather we've been having in Sea-town, but having everything in the kitchen is pretty convenient.

Some herbs are growing better than others. The parsley is pretty slow but the dill and basil plants are growing like crazy and I'm constantly having to prune them. Short of eating the stuff straight, (I'm not that hardcore), I've been adding basil to everything. It worked out pretty nicely in fried rice (I don't think dill would go over as well).

Basil Fried Rice
serves 2

2 C cooked, cold, leftover rice from day before
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 C basil leaves, chopped right before adding to prevent blackening
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 - 2 Tbsp soy sauce (as desired, more soy sauce = browner rice)
1 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil (sometimes I use bacon fat, mmm!)

Heat the cooking oil over medium high heat in a nonstick skillet or wok. Add the rice and cook for 2 - 3 minutes. Break up any clumps of rice and cook until the rice is steamy hot. Add the salt and some pepper.

Push all the rice to one side to clear an area of the skillet. Add the beaten eggs to the open spot in the pan and stir to cook the eggs. When the eggs are almost fully cooked but still runny, stir it into the rice and add the soy sauce.

Take the pan off heat, roughly chop or tear the basil, and stir it into the rice. Add just seasoning with more salt if necessary.

-or- w/ Green Onions instead of Basil
1 to 2 (depending on the size and your preferences) green onions, thinly sliced

Instead of adding the green onions at the end like with the basil, add the green onions to the cooking oil before adding the rice and cook until it's fragrant, about 30 seconds, then add the rice and proceed with the rest of the recipe.

LA Trip and Bibimbap

Steven and I went on a short, laid back trip down to LA two weekends ago where we didn't do much but eat, our kind of vacation. It's ridiculous how much good food there is down in SoCal.

First stop: xiao long bao. I’d been dying for a fix since my last Vancouver, BC trip. Steven and I were debating if we should visit Din Tai Fung since they’re world renowned and we’d be within 10 minutes of the only North American branch. After asking both Steven’s sister who’s eaten there and Wandering Chopsticks, we heard that the wait is too long, the dumplings are tiny and overpriced so we decided it wasn’t worth it. We love our soup dumplings but we’re also poor students.

Instead, we visited both Mei Long Village and JJ's based on Wandering Chopsticks’ recommendations. The two restaurants are in the same complex, literally 30 feet away. Maybe we went at an off time, but the pork xiao long bao at Mei Longs barely had any soup. I was pretty bummed. The meat and the soup, albeit very little, was flavorful. The crab dumplings were, however, very mediocre just like WC said. We paid our bill and went to JJ’s, 2 shops away. Their pork dumplings had sooo much more soup. In the end it was a tossup for the pork soup dumplings, Steven preferred the flavor of Mei Long's, I preferred JJ. The crab dumplings at JJ were hands down much better, way more crab flavor and soup. Again just echoing what WC wrote in her original posts about the two dumping houses. The crab dumplings are definitely worthwhile but don’t bother with the sheng jian bao. They’re way too bready and have no soup. For sheng jian bao, WC recommended Kang Kang food court, which we went to later that night for shaved ice but didn’t have enough stomach room left for sheng jian bao.

Later that night, we visited SoCal’s famous Pinkberry. The original flavor is definitely the best. The original with raspberries, almonds, and chocolate made our night. Pass on the green tea froyo, it had barely any matcha flavor and it just didn't taste right. We recently tried some froyo at a place near UW campus and it didn’t come anywhere close to the wonders of Pinkberry. I have a feeling I’m gonna need a fix in the near future.

At around 10pm we met up with WC, who took us to her favorite Hong Kong café, Baccali. Milk tea plus condensed milk with endless refills, Malaysian style roast chicken with curried rice, salted fish and chicken fried rice, deep fried chicken wings, and beef chow fun. It was a diverse array of food but the concept works and tastes even better late at night. Steven and I ate so much, we were in pain for a bit. I think it was the free tea refills that did us in.

We started Day 2 off with lunch at In-n-Out. Animal style cheeseburgers and well done fries. The burgers were delicious and ridiculously cheap! I was expecting the “well-done” fries to be extra crispy but still fluffy on the inside, but these were fried all the way through so they just tasted dry and stale. I’ll skip these next time and just get the regular fries.

For dinner, we drove to Koreatown for Korean BBQ at Chung Kiwa. The seafood pancake was chock-full of delicious seafood but way too pricey at $18. The black angus kalbi and spicy pork (daeji bulgogi) were both very tasty. I liked the rice noodle sheets for wrapping the beef but Steven and I were more used to lettuce leaves. The waitstaff are very attentive and continually checked on us and cooked our food, even though we didn’t understand a word of Korean.

It was a delicious, calorie-filled trip but after 2 days of LA smog, it was good to be back home in Seattle. Thank you to Wandering Chopsticks for being our fearless leader at Baccali and Jen of Use Real Butter for your great restaurant list, I wish we had more time to check out all the fantastic places you recommended.

Now for a short recipe.


I think the most appropriate recipe to follow this trip report would be the bulgogi bibimbap photos I took over a month ago. My favorite is the dolsot bibimbap, bibimbap served in a big hot stone bowl. The crispy rice crust that forms along the side of the bowl is the best part. I have no idea where to buy those cool bowls and it’s probably too much trouble to mess with at home so I’ll leave that to the pros. Bibimbap literally means mixed rice and stirring it up is definitely the best part and looks even more delicious.



I normally throw bibimbap together and have no coherent recipe. I made it again yesterday and I’ve come to the conclusion that I probably won’t ever write down an exact recipe because it’s more work to get the exact measurements than to just wing it and throw stuff together. Cooked zucchini, grated carrot, leftover meat or tofu, steamed rice, fried egg, and bibimbap sauce are the bare minimal. It only takes me 15 minutes to make a bare bones version because I usually don’t go all out and make fresh bulgogi or marinated bean sprouts. Yesterday I covered a small 8 oz. salmon fillet with some the same marinade I use for kalbi, and roasted it in the toaster oven. Prepare as many of the sides as you like, it would take way too much time to make them all.

Bibimbap – Korean Mixed Rice
Steamed rice
Browned ground beef or tofu with a little soy sauce, sugar, and garlic, leftover bulgogi, spicy pork bulgogi, or kalbi
Kimchi
Grated carrot
Grated daikon
Zucchini, julienned and sautéed with salt in a little vegetable oil
Button mushrooms or shiitake mushrooms, sliced and sautéed with salt in vegetable oil, finish with sesame oil drizzle
Seasoned beans sprouts
Spinach
Seasame seeds for garnish
Fried egg for each serving
Bibimbap sauce

Bibimbap Sauce
Gochujang (or substitute Szechuan hot bean sauce – dou ban jiang)
Mix in sesame oil and thin with a little water
Optional: honey + rice vinegar to taste

Pan-Seared Scallops and Leek Risotto (and Blackberry Vinaigrette)

jump to the new blog for more risotto

Leek and Bacon Risotto
*note: omit the bacon for a vegetarian version

2 slices regular thickness bacon or 1 slice thick cut bacon *omit and replace with 1 Tbsp of vegetable oil for vegetarian
1 leek, white and light green part only thinly sliced and washed
1 C arborio or carnaroli rice (do not rinse!)
1/4 C dry white wine
2 1/2 - 3 C homemade chicken stock
1/4 C freshly grated Parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
1 Tbsp butter

In a small saucepan, bring the stock to a low simmer and keep it warm.

In a large heavy bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium low heat until crisp and the fat has rendered. Turn up the heat to medium and add the leeks and a pinch of salt. Cook until the leeks have softened. Add the rice and cook the rice until the rice is evenly coated in the fat and toasty. You will be able to see an outer opaque ring around a white center on the rice grains.

Add the white wine and cook until it has absorbed. Reduce the heat to medium low and add a half cup of the chicken stock and freshly ground black pepper to taste. At a low simmer, cook the rice, while stirring continuously, until all of the stock has been absorbed. Add another half cup of stock and stir continuously. Repeat adding the stock and stirring continuously until the rice is al dente. You may not need all of the stock, or if you find yourself running low on stock, use some hot water. Start tasting the rice after 20 minutes of cooking. It should be tender with a slight firm bite in the center. When the risotto is finished cooking, take it off heat. It will be creamy, moist, and somewhat runny but it will thicken after adding the cheese and while it cools.

Off heat, stir in the Parmesan and butter and taste for salt.

Made these for Valentine's Day. They're perfect on this risotto.

Pan Seared Scallops
3 - 6 Scallops per person
Salt and Pepper
Oil

Keep the scallops in between two sheets of paper towels before you cook them. This will help absorb any moisture from the scallops. Season the scallops on both sides with salt and pepper.

Heat a stainless steel or well-seasoned cast iron skillet over medium high heat and add a tablespoon of vegetable or canola oil.

When the pan is hot, add the scallops, giving them about 1 - 2 inches of room in between each other. Cook them undisturbed for 2 minutes then using a spatula, gently flip the scallops to the second side, cook for another 1 minute or until the second side is nicely browned also. Take off heat and serve with your favorite side.

For the salad mix in our CSA box, I made a blackberry vinaigrette with the blackberries I painstakingly picked last summer. I still have about a gallon of frozen blackberries and I better hurry up and use them before they start tasting like freezer. Wouldn't that be a waste! I mean, my sweat and blood went into picking those blackberries! This is a great summery, fruity dressing that really relies on fresh berry flavor.

Blackberry Vinaigrette
3 Tbsp fresh blackberry puree
fresh lemon juice (to taste)
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (to taste)
Salt and freshly ground pepper

If your blackberries are very ripe, sweet, and potent, you can get away using just two tablespoons of puree and add some lemon juice for tartness. My blackberries were not picked at their absolute ripest so they were still on the slightly tart side and I didn't need to add any lemon juice at all. Don't add any acid in the the beginning and just taste as you go.

Whisk the blackberry puree and Dijon together to mix, slowly whisk in some extra virgin olive oil until you get the consistency you like. Add lemon juice for additional tartness. Season with some salt and pepper.

Osso Buco with Risotto Milanese

jump to the new blog for more risotto

Osso Buco
Adapted from Marcella Hazan (Below is the full recipe with minor changes, I scaled the recipe down to roughly 1/3 since I was only cooking 2 shanks)

6 - 8 veal shanks
Salt and pepper
Flour
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 Tbsp butter
1 C diced onion
2/3 C diced carrot
2/3 C diced celery
1 C dry white wine
2 strips lemon zest
1 C chicken stock
1 1/2 C tomatoes in juices
1/4 tsp dried thyme or 1 tsp fresh
2 bay leaves
3 - 4 parsley sprigs

Gremolada
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 tsp finely minced garlic
1 Tbsp minced Italian parsley

Some notes from Marcella Hazan:
- Veal shanks are best no thicker than 1 1/2 inches, otherwise they will not cook evenly.
- Do not remove the white skin/membrane around shank, it adds flavor and creaminess to the dish
- Give yourself enough time to allow the osso buco to cook slowly and gently. It's not something you can rush.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Tie each shank tightly with a piece of twine to prevent them from falling apart during cooking.

Flour both sides of the veal shank and pat off the excess. Heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Sear the shanks on both sides until a brown crust forms, remove to a plate and set aside.

Turn down the heat to medium and add 4 tablespoons of butter to the Dutch oven. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook until the vegetables have softened. Add the wine and cook until it no longer smells alcoholic. Nestle the shanks back into the
vegetables. Add the lemon zest, chicken stock, tomatoes, thyme, bay leaf, and parsley. Bring the contents to a simmer, cover, and transfer to the oven.

Let it cook in the oven for about 2 - 3 hours or until the shanks are fork tender. Baste the shanks by spooning the cooking liquid over them every 20 - 30 minutes. If the pot is getting too dry, add a few tablespoons of water.

Optional step (it wasn't in the cookbook but this is what I did): After the shanks are done, carefully remove them from the pot and set aside on a plate. Puree the contents in the pot (the veggies and braising liquid) in a blender/food processor/immersion blender for a more uniform sauce.

Serve the osso buco over risotto milanese or polenta. Carefully snip the twine around the shank and spoon the sauce over it. Top with a spoonful of the gremolada (which I skipped in the picture).


Risotto Milanese
Adapted from Marcella Hazan

1 Tbsp olive oil (I used bacon fat)
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 medium onion, finely diced
1 C Arborio or Carnaroli rice
A small pinch of saffron threads (I used about 6 - 10?)
1/4 C hot water
1/4 C dry white wine
2 - 3 C chicken stock
1 Tbsp cold butter
1/3 C grated Parmigiano Reggiano

Note:
- Do not rinse the rice, the starches on the outside of the grains is what makes the risotto creamy.
- The chicken stock must be hot when you add it to the rice, so keep it in a saucepan on low heat on the stove while you're cooking.
- Add the saffron threads to the hot water and let it infuse.

Heat the olive oil and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until softened. Add the rice and cook until the rice is coated with fat and starts to turn translucent around the edges.

Lower the heat to medium low, add the wine and cook while stirring until
the wine has been absorbed.

Add one cup of the chicken stock, keeping it at a simmer, and cook uncovered while stirring constantly until almost all of the liquid as absorbed. After this point add the chicken stock about 1/3 cup at a time. Keep it at a low simmer, and cook the rice while stirring constantly.

About 15 minutes in, after the chicken stock has been absorbed, add the saffron
water (threads too) and continue to cook and stir. If you start running low on
chicken stock, go ahead and use hot water.

Continue adding ladlefuls of broth, waiting until each addition has been almost absorbed before adding the next, cook while constantly stirring until the rice has is al dente, fully cooked but still retains a chew in the center.

Take off heat and stir in a tablespoon of cold butter and grated Parmigiano.