Hash is a favorite of mine. It’s so tasty and so versatile. Any meat, any vegetables can be used in hash. It’s not just corned beef hash anymore! After I made the roasted turkey breast the other day, I had over half the breast left (since there’s only one of me and the recipe served 4). I’d already cooked plenty of sweet potatoes (but there’s nothing wrong with cooking more!) and had some rainbow carrots in the freezer. Hash is so easy to make, hope you’ll give it a try.
I served this with the leftover turkey pear gravy! Oh so delicious
In a large skillet (12″), heat over medium heat:
2 tablespoons olive oil
When shimmering add:
1 medium onion diced
3-5 celery stalks, diced
When the onion is becoming translucent, add:
2 cups diced cooked sweet potato (or white if you prefer)
1 cup cooked rainbow carrots, sliced or diced
2 not quite ripe pears, peeled and diced
1-2 teaspoons minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix to combine and continue cooking until sweet potatoes start to brown. Stir in:
2-3 cups cooked turkey, diced
Lower heat to medium low and cover. Cook for approximately 2-3 minutes until turkey is hot. Remove lid, stir. At this point, if eggs are allowed in your diet, crack 4 eggs on top of the hash, cover and cook until eggs are ready. Serves 4.
I’m always looking for new ways to cook chicken and turkey. A couple months ago, I blogged a recipe for pork loin with a pear gravy. It came out so good I wondered how pear would go with turkey. Turns out placing sliced pears (or you could use apples) under the skin of the turkey breast keeps it moist while it’s roasting (just be sure not to over cook it!). And yes, I made gravy and added some cooked pears to it, oh so delicious!
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. To feed four:
4-5 pound bone-in turkey breast
Clean thoroughly, removing any feathers or pin feathers left behind along the outside of the skin. Push your fingers under the skin and break the membrane holding the skin to the meat. Prepare a baking dish large enough to hold the turkey along with 2 cups of diced sweet potato. Spray the dish with non-stick cooking spray. Place the turkey in the dish, skin side up.
Wash, peel, core and slice:
1 medium, not too ripe pear making sure all the slices are about the same thickness
Place the pear slices, overlapping slightly between the skin and the meat of the turkey breast. When the pears are in place, , salt and pepper the pears. Using small skewers, pin the skin to the meat to hold the pears in place. Salt and pepper the skin (I also used some garlic powder along with some sage).
Peel and dice up (large pieces) 2 medium sweet potatoes and place around the breast, spray the sweet potatoes with a non-stick cooking spray (or before you add them, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to them and stir to coat). Salt and pepper the potatoes. (My mother always used white potatoes.)
Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 20 minutes then reduce heat to 350 degrees for about an hour to 75 minutes or until the breast measures 155 degrees when a thermometer is inserted in the thickest part. (It should be cooked to 160 degrees but it will continue cooking after you take it out of the oven.)
Remove the pins and the skin. Cover loosely with a large pan or, if no alternative is available, aluminum foil (should be a last resort!). Let rest for about 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with the pear slices.
If gravy is desired in a 4 cup saucepan heat:
1 cup turkey (or chicken) stock
1 medium ripe pear, peeled cored and mashed
Bring to a boil. While it’s heating whisk together:
1/2 cup turkey (or chicken stock)
2 tablespoons all purpose gluten-free flour
When the stock is boiling, whisk in the flour slurry and keep whisking until the mixture thickens, turning it down to medium heat after adding the slurry. Simmer for about 5 minutes to cook the flour and serve. If you have lumps of flour or large chunks of pear, feel free to run the gravy through a medium sieve to remove them before serving.
I was looking through The Chicken Bible this afternoon looking for another recipe to make and saw one that gave me inspiration, it was a honey mustard glazed chicken. I remembered I had about a quarter cup of pear puree in the refrigerator that I had to use up and decided to add that to the glaze. And the recipe called for rosemary and I don’t like rosemary so I used thyme which goes well with both pears and honey. Turned out delicious! Hope you enjoy it. If you don’t like pears, use some apple butter, sauce or jelly instead.
Enough for 5-6 chicken thighs or 1/2 breasts.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking dish large enough to hold the chicken with non-stick spray. Clean the chicken and remove any excess fat that’s visible.
Mix in a small bowl:
1/4 cup pear puree (or apple)
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon mustard
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (or herbamare)
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
Place the chicken pieces in the baking dish (if you’re using both thighs and breasts, be sure to place the breasts on the inside of the dish and the thighs around the edge). Spoon about 1 tablespoon of the glaze on each piece of chicken and spread around to cover the top. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the breasts register 160 degrees and the thighs 175 degrees.
Sprinkle with some chopped scallions or chives and serve.
This recipe takes some time since the pork loin is marinated but worth the effort and wait. The gravy is lick the plate good! Now I’m thinking I should add fruit puree to all my gravies. Yum, yum. Braising cooks food slowly so be sure that the loin is well seared (browned) before cooking so that it doesn’t lose all its juices. And since I love figs and pears, and I know they go well together, I thought how about braising them with the loin. This recipe would also work with a turkey breast or apples instead of pears.
At least 4 hours before the cooking starts, put in a gallon food storage bag:
1/4 cup seasoned vinegar or apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt (or herbamare)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried thyme
6-8 dried figs
Add:
1 1/2-2 1/2 pound pork loin
Seal and let sit in the refrigerator at least 4 hours. If you are using a chicken, duck, or turkey breast, you can put this directly into the cooking vessel – either a roasting/baking dish with a cover, or the bowl of a slow cooker.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees if the loin is going in the oven. I cooked mine on the stove top in a medium size Dutch oven. Remove the pork loin (or turkey breast) from the marinade. Dry thoroughly and rub with:
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground cumin
In a 10″ skillet or one large enough to hold the loin, heat:
2 tablespoons olive oil
Turn the oil down to medium heat and add the loin (or turkey breast). Sear (brown) on all sides. Remove the meat and add to the skillet:
1 medium onion chopped
1/2 bag of baby carrots, cut into bite size pieces
1 large or 2 small (I used one small sweet and one small white) potatoes
2 teaspoons minced garlic
Sauté the vegetables for about 5 minutes. Add:
figs from the marinade (or 6-8 other fresh or dried figs)
Add the meat back into the cooking vessel along with:
1 to 1 1/2 cups chicken or turkey stock
Cover the pot or dish and cook over low heat (simmer) until the meat reaches 145 degrees for pork or 165-170 for poultry. On the stovetop in the Dutch oven, my just under 2 pound pork loin took just over an hour. When the meat is cooked, remove the meat and vegetables and add to the stock:
1 diced medium pear (peeled or not doesn’t matter)
If the meat was cooked in the oven, pour the stock into a small saucepot before adding the pear. Turn up the heat to medium and cook, covered, until the pear is soft. Add:
A slurry made with 1/2 cup turkey or chicken stock whisked with 2 tablespoons all purpose gluten free flour
Stir until the gravy thickens and the pear pieces are integrated into the gravy, this should only take a couple of minutes. Cook over low heat for about 5 minutes so that the flour cooks completely. Slice the pork loin (or other meat) and place on a platter surrounded by the vegetables and figs. Pour some of the gravy over the pork and serve.
cookingwithoutallergens 