| Issue #35, November 23, 2007 |
Silvia Lehrer's Cooking Column 
The feast is over and, no doubt, you have lots of little containers of leftovers, turkey slices and meaty portions of carcass. For openers, I cannot stress enough to remove the leftover turkey meat from the bones and refrigerate ASAP in a suitable container. The meat will stay fresher and the carcass, when combined with a couple of carrots, a rib or two of celery, an onion, parsley sprigs, some cloves and peppercorns, will make a find turkey stock. Then empty those leftover cooked vegetables along with diced turkey meat into the broth and voila - turkey vegetable soup. Recycling never tasted so good!
Or go the extra distance and take advantage of the seasonal and local availability of leek and Hubbard squash for a robust, turkey based soup with pastina.
Occasionally I will be totally captivated by a recipe I saw in a magazine or happen to catch on a TV cooking show. When a guest chef on a TV show prepared a crunchy, nutty, wild rice salad with sautéed oyster mushrooms and shallot vinaigrette with dried fruits, I was hooked and set out to adapt the recipe cutting back on the huge quantities of expensive ingredients such as oyster mushrooms and wild rice. Chefs tend to cook for an army, but in my pragmatic mode I made the recipe work to serve eight. Wild rice, the grain of a wild grass, is thought of a uniquely American food. How fitting then, to serve it on this unique American holiday weekend.
LEEK, SQUASH AND PASTINA SOUP
Use the thick, sweet flesh of the globular Hubbard squash for this seasonal soup.
Serves 6
2 leek, split lengthwise into quarters and rinsed thoroughly
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 Hubbard squash (about 2 1/2 pounds)
3 cups turkey stock
3 cups water
1/2 - 1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup pastina
1. Dry thoroughly rinsed leek, then cut crosswise into thin slices.
2. In a large saucepan, heat butter and oil, and put in the leek. Saute for 3-4 minutes until tender.
3. Meanwhile, peel and discard the tough hard rind of the squash and remove the seeds. Cut the flesh into 1/2-inch pieces. Yield about 5 cups.
4. Place squash in the saucepan with the leek and stir to mix. Pour over turkey stock and water and season with salt and several grinds of fresh black pepper. Bring mixture to a boil, cover and reduce heat and cook at a brisk simmer for 30 minutes.
5. Add pastina and cook for 10 minutes longer. Taste to adjust seasoning as necessary. Stir to mix and serve hot.
TURKEY STOCK
Roast turkey or chicken carcass
Giblets, drippings and any vegetables from roasting pan
1 carrot, trimmed and peeled
1 celery, trimmed and strings removed
Green of leek or scallion
2-3 sprigs parsley or dill
1 bay leaf
1 onion studded with 2 whole cloves
1. Place turkey carcass, giblets, and drippings from the roasting pan in a large saucepan and fill with fresh cold water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, and then adjust to a brisk simmer. Tie carrot, celery, leek or scallion greens, parsley and bay leaf with kitchen string into a neat bundle. Drop the bundle into the saucepan and immerse in the simmering liquid. Cook with cover ajar for 3 hours. Check stock from time to time to be sure that a gentle boil is maintained.
2. When done, lift out and discard the carcass and vegetable bundle. Strain stock through a fine sieve into a bowl. Cool and use as directed, or refrigerate or freeze.
WILD RICE SALAD WITH CHANTERELLES AND SHALLOT VINAIGRETTE
This uniquely American ingredient is not a rice at all, but the grain of a wild grass.
Serves 8
For the salad
1 1/4 cups wild rice
Coarse (kosher) salt
3 1/2 cups fresh water
1/2 pound chanterelle mushrooms
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon grapeseed oil
Freshly ground pepper
For the vinaigrette
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly toasted
Coarse (kosher) salt and freshly ground pepper
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 pound mixed dried fruits
1. Rinse rice in a strainer for two minutes. Put into a 3 quart saucepan and bring to a boil. Add salt, stir to mix and cook at a brisk simmer for 30-40 minutes until rice "blossoms" and is tender. Drain well and let cool.
2. Rinse mushrooms quickly in a colander under fresh running water. Pat dry with paper towel. Separate chanterelles from their stem base then cut into 3/8-inch slices. Heat oil in a non-stick skillet, put in the mushrooms and saute for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a side dish
3. For the vinaigrette, heat 1 tablespoon oil in the non-stick skillet the mushrooms cooked in and saute the shallots until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in toasted fennel seeds, salt and pepper to taste and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add vinegar and stir to mix. Top with mixed fruits.
4. Combine the rice, mushrooms and vinaigrette in a large bowl and toss gently to mix. Can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Refrigerate in a suitable container until ready to serve.
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