Thanksgiving Pasta

11/25/2022

I said yesterday I would post this recipe for Thanksgiving Pasta, and here it is.

This is pretty simple to make and delivers many of Thanksgiving flavors without spending two days on dinner. I made this for the two of us, but the recipe nicely serves three people.

Ingredients

  1. Two turkey thighs (or any part of the turkey you like), skinned, deboned, and cut into bite-size pieces
  2. 1/4-1/2 onion diced
  3. One small shallot diced
  4. 3-4 cloves of garlic diced
  5. Six sage leaves, three rosemary sprigs, a teaspoon of thyme, and six basil leaves roughly chopped.
  6. One small sweet potato diced bite-size
  7. 1 cup sliced mushrooms
  8. Two large celery stalks cut into 1/2" pieces
  9. 1/4 cup of dried tart cherries (or cranberries)
  10. 3 oz of dried pasta - parboiled
  11. 2 tbsp of olive oil
  12. 2 tbsp of butter

Step 1: Parboil the pasta in the microwave (or stove top); use a ratio of about 2X the water to pasta. For 1/2 cup of pasta, use 1 cup of water. Boil the water in the microwave (use a large container - about twice the size to allow for boil-up). Add salt and pasta to the water and give a quick stir. Microwave on high for 7 minutes. It should have a good bite at that point. Drain if needed and set aside.

Step 2: Heat the oil and butter in a large skillet until the butter foams

Step 3: Brown the turkey well on all sides (if using leftover turkey, add it later but still brown a few pieces to flavor the oil) - transfer the turkey to a bowl or plate

Step 4: Add the root veggies, onion, garlic, shallot, celery, and sweet potato and sauté (if using leftover sweet potato, hold that until the leftover turkey goes in)

Step 5: When the celery and potato are almost done (nice bite to them), add the mushrooms, herbs, and cherries (and if using leftover turkey/sweet potato, add those in now). Saute for about five minutes to bring all the flavors together. Add the pasta and heat for another two minutes to bring the pasta to temperature.

Serve with a sprinkle of grated parmesan or pecorino cheese.

Note: This can also be served over rice instead of using pasta. You might want to make a little gravy from the turkey cracklings if using rice.