I can probably only handle two or three good turkey meals over the holidays, after that I just get all turkeyed out! After I had picked my turkey clean the other day to make the turkey stock for my last blog, I realized that I hadn’t actually had any turkey yet this season and since Jana was working late I thought it was about time the kids and I had some for supper!
I had a package of Compliments Phyllo Pastry in the fridge and some leek, carrots and celery kicking around from the turkey stock recipe. So I combined them together to create a quick strudel for supper. The recipe was quite simple, although some may find the phyllo pastry a little finicky. Fortunately the paper thin pastry is rather forgiving and can be easily patched together if you get a little rough. Slicing and dicing the vegetables was the hardest part of the recipe, only because I wanted them to be on the finer side so I could hide them from the kids. Even with all the slicing and dicing, it only took about 15-20 minutes to mix the filling together, about 5 minutes more to get it all wrapped up in the pastry, and since the turkey was already cooked, a short 20 minutes in the oven. I was really excited by my creation and enjoyed dinner, the kids however were less impressed and fought their way through it. Let me know if your family likes it as much as I did.
Happy Holiday Cooking!
Chef Ryan Skelton
Turkey Strudel
Serves 6
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
1 leek, washed well and thinly sliced
2 large carrots, cut julienne
3 stalks of celery, finely diced
¼ cup (60 mL) fresh chopped parsley
1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh thyme
½ cup (125 mL) Compliments Festive Cranberry Sauce
1 tbsp (15 mL) Compliments Balsamic Vinegar
2 cups (500 mL) diced turkey
¼ cup (60 mL) fresh bread crumbs
5 sheets of Compliments Phyllo Pastry Sheets, defrosted
2-3 tbsp (30-45 mL) Compliments Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
- Pre-heat your oven at 375°F(190°C). Prepare all vegetables as needed and combine them in a large mixing bowl with the parsley, thyme, cranberry sauce, vinegar, turkey, bread crumbs and season lightly with salt and pepper.
- On a clean work surface, lay out one sheet of phyllo pastry, brush lightly with some of the olive oil and lay a second sheet of phyllo over top. Brush lightly with some of the olive oil and repeat for the remaining sheets of pastry.
- Place the filling in a log down the center of the pastry, leaving an inch at either end. Fold the ends up over the pastry and roll tightly into a log. Set the strudel on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, brush with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with sea salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes, let cool slightly, slice and serve.
