Turkey Stew with Mashed Potato Dumplings

This dish uses up both left-over holiday turkey and mashed potatoes making it the perfect post-christmas meal. Enjoy it with a side salad or on it’s own. This recipe makes 3 large portions or 4 small portions.

You will want to make sure that everything is chopped up and measured out before you start cooking because once you get going it goes very quickly.

Makes: 3-4 servings

Preparation time: 20m
Cooking time: 20m
Total time: 40m

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup mashed potatoes
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup yellow onion (diced)
  • 2 garlic cloves (minced)
  • 10 Brussels sprouts (quartered)
  • 1 1/4 cup flour (divided, you may not use it all)
  • 1/2 cup chopped carrots
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 cup white wine (or vermouth)
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
  • 1/2 cup chopped broccoli
  • 3 cups low-sodium chicken stock (you may not use all of it)
  • 2 cups cooked turkey (torn or cut into bite-sized chunks)

Equipment: bowl, large saucepan

Instructions:

  1. In a bowl combine the mashed potatoes, 1 egg and 1/2 cup flour with a fork or the back of a spoon. Use a spoon to gather up some dough and roll into a ball. It should be about the consistency of chocolate chip cookie dough. They should be a bit sticky but should hold some shape. If they are still shapeless, add flour a teaspoon at a time, up to another 1/2 cup until they do. This will vary because some people make mashed potatoes creamier than others but it should work with everyone’s in the end. Once the dough is the right consistency set it aside.
  2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or dutch oven on the stovetop over medium/medium-high heat until it is loose and easily runs around the pan.
  3. Sauté the onion and garlic until translucent (2-3 minutes).
  4. Mix in the Brussels sprouts, broccoli, carrots, celery and sauté for 4-5 minutes more, stirring frequently to keep from burning.
  5. Add the wine and let it sizzle away for a minute then sprinkle the oregano and the remaining 1/4 cup flour over everything. Stir until the flour is all mixed in (not white anymore) then immediately pour in the stock until the vegetables are covered but not floating.
  6. Toss in the peas and turkey and bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer, check the liquid level again. You want the contents just covered but not floating.
  7. Using 2 tablespoons drop the mashed potato dumplings on top of the stew by the spoonful. Do not drop them on top of each other, try to spread them out as you go, only overlapping at the end if necessary. This will make 9-10 dumplings. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Do not lift the cover until 10 minutes has passed. Then check and see if the dumplings are cooked through by cutting into one of them. If the stew is still too liquidy just turn up the heat and reduce until it reaches the desired consistency. If it is too dry feel free to add a little more stock before serving.
  8. Serve warm, you may want to dish it up and let it cool for a few minutes before digging in.