If you have extra fresh turkey and a grinder simply mince the turkey in the grinder.  Remove the flesh from the thighs, legs and the tail.  Breast meat is rather dry and bland whereas the thighs and legs have more flavor and fat.   If you don’t have a grinder, freeze chunks of turkey and mince the chunks in your food processor.  However, ground turkey is available at most supermarkets so save yourself some time and work.

Beans can be dried or canned but for my money I prefer dried beans and the juice created during the cooking process is far superior in flavor to that of canned beans, which tend to be overly salted.  Use red beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, or black beans or a combination.  I prefer red beans with black beans.

Best to soak dried beans overnight according to package instructions but a quick way to plump up dried beans is to wash them first, cover with water up to 1-inch above the beans , do not salt the water, bring to a boil over high heat and cook for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat, cover and let soak for 1 or 2 hours.  Be sure you do not salt the water.  Salting the water will prevent the beans from softening.

Finally, bring the soaked beans to a boil over high heat then reduce to a lively simmer and cook until really soft and tender, about 1.5 to 2 hours.   You can use a crock pot for this step so the beans will cook to tender while you’re at work or running errands.

Use the 5 bean test to make sure the beans are really tender.  If 4 out of 5 beans are soft and slightly squishy, they are done and ready to add meat, veggies and seasoning.  You’ll need 3 cups of cooked beans with the cooking liquid for this recipe.  Freeze the remainder for re-fried beans, minestrone, arroz con pollo, bean salad or other dishes.

While the beans are on their final cooking, prepare the Turkey Sausage.  Always test fry a small patty of sausage to check for seasoning.  If its to your liking then proceed.  At this point sausage patties can be made, wrapped and frozen for breakfast or biscuits and gravy.

Ingredients:

Turkey Sausage:

•  1 pound of ground raw turkey
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp ground sage
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or to taste

Chile:

• 3 cups cooked beans and liquid or 1 can of red beans and 1 can of black beans
• 1 lb Homemade Turkey Sausage
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 15-oz can of diced tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp chile powder
• 1 fresh hot chile of choice, minced with or without seeds and veins or 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp oregano or 2 sprigs of fresh oregano
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp masa harina (Mexican corn tortilla flour or 1 crisp corn tortilla finely crushed)

Garnishes:

• cilantro leaves
• cheddar cheese or Monterrey Jack cheese grated
• Greek yogurt or sour cream
• pickled jalapeno peppers
• sliced scallions (spring onions)

Method:

1. To prepare the Turkey Sausage, mix all ingredients in a bowl taking care not to overwork the meat.  Make a tiny patty with 1 Tbsp of the seasoned meat and fry it in a non-stick skillet over medium high heat until done, turning once.  Taste the patty for seasoning and adjust the sausage if needed.
2. In a non-stick skillet, saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until fragrant and wilted. Add the sausage and break it up with a wooden spoon or potato masher as it cooks.  Cook the sausage only until it is no longer pink.  Add to the beans with cooking liquid in a large sauce pan.
3. Add the remaining chile ingredients to the beans and meat.  Bring to a slow boil for 10-15 minutes.
4. Using a potato masher, smash some of the beans to make it creamy.   Continue to simmer until juices are creamy and juices have reduced to your taste.
5. Let cool for 10 or 15 minutes before serving.  Serve with garnishes, warm tortillas or bread.

An emersion blender is handy for pureeing soups right in the stock pot and eliminates having to batch-puree in a blender or food processor.

Ingredients: 

• 4 fresh sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1 stock of celery, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 8 cups chicken stock
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 2 chipolte chiles, minced
• 1 tsp thyme leaves
• 1 tsp. curry powder
• 1 can coconut milk (unsweetened)

Method:

1. Place sweet potatoes, celery, onion, and chicken stock in a stock pot and bring to a boil.  Cook until potatoes are tender, remove veggies and puree. 
2. Return veggies to stock pot and add chiles, curry powder, thyme, and coconut milk.  Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes more.
3. Adjust seasonings to taste and serve with a dollop of sour cream, chopped chives, or minced parsley for a vegan version.   Crisp bacon bits may be added for carnivores.

Makes 8 servings.  Serve with a pear and arugula salad and corn bread for a quick lunch or supper.

Start with a little homemade herbed-chicken stock, bring to a lively simmer, toss in some cooked noodles, add tarragon, capers, fresh basil, and finish it with chunks from the tail-end of a salmon fillet and a glob of homemade creme fraiche.  Add salt and freshly ground black pepper and a dash of chili sauce for sparkle.  It’s just that simple and soul satisfying served for a light supper with crunchy French bread and a glass of wine.

To make the chicken stock, be frugual and use the carcass of a roasted chicken with all the bones, wings tips and back meat.  Add roughly chopped celery, onion, leek and carrot, cover with water, and bring to a boil.  Add a splash or 2 of white wine or vermouth, and sprigs of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.  Let simmer for at least 1 hour.  The longer it cooks the richer the flavor.  Cool and refrigerate the entire stockpot contents overnight.  Skim solidified fat from the top surface, warm slightly and strain.  Discard solids and pour strained stock into freezer safe containers to store. 

If you buy a whole fillet of salmon, cut 2-inch-wide slices for grilling from the main section of the fillet.  There is always the thin section towards the tail that can be skinned and used in soups, casseroles, kabobs and more.  Be sure to remove any bones from the thick slices.  A pair of tweezers works well for this task.

Callaloo is synonymous with Caribbean cuisine as lu supo (loo soo-poe) is fundamental to Polynesian cuisine.  Both soups are made with taro leaves and while Caribbean cookery uses other varieties of leaves, all of which are referred to as callaloo, Polynesians from the Hawaiians to the Tongans use only taro leaves.  In the South Pacific, each island nation has their own taro varieties cultivated for their particular soil, popularity, exportability, and weather patterns.

In Tonga, lu (taro leaves) is cooked in soups, side dishes, and main dishes with meat or fish.  Coconut milk is added to nearly all traditional island cooking, especially lu.  The stems and veins of the lu leaf have needle-point raphides (calcium oxalate) which, if not well cooked, will cause your throat to constrict and your tongue to itch.  This malady is cause to claim “the cook is lazy” since removing the stems and large central vein, as  well as thoroughly cooking the leaf, requires a bit of time and effort.

Since taro is difficult to find in areas outside of the tropics, the best substitute is a mix of large leaf spinach and Swiss chard.  Kale or collard greens can also be used successfully.  Collard greens are a gift from our African ancestors just like callaloo was a gift from African slaves brought to the Caribbean in the 1700′s.

The fungi dumplings, another Caribbean dish, frequently served in the callaloo soup, was originally made of cassava (manioke) meal but has been replaced with yellow cornmeal in the last 50 years or so.  Cassava meal is still used in some Polynesian cooking as corn is relatively expensive and not indigenous to Polynesia.  Cassava is a subject for another post.

This soup is teaming with flavors from the chili spiked kale, okra, meat, crab and fungi dumplings.  It can be made vegan simply by eliminating the meat and adding pumpkin, yam or sweet potato.  If you like greens, you’ll enjoy this nutritious and filling soup.

Ingredients:

• 4 oz salt pork, 1/2-inch cubes (or 6 strips of bacon)
• 1 onion, chopped finely
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bunch Kale, about 1-1/2 lbs, washed, stems removed, chopped
• 6 cups chicken stock (fish stock or vegetable stock may be used)
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 fresh thyme sprig (or 1/4 tsp dried thyme)
• 1 Scotch Bonnet chili, deveined, seeded and minced (habanero chili)
• 4 oz corned beef brisket (or1 small can corned beef)
• 1/2 lb crab meat – fresh, frozen or canned, pick clean of shell debrise
• 1/2 lb okra, sliced rounds
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
• 1 recipe fungi dumplings (recipe below)
• 4 scallions sliced for garnish

Method:

1. In a Dutch oven over medium high heat, fry salt pork to render fat.  Reserve browned pork cubes for garnish.  Reserve 2 Tbsp of fat. 
2. Saute onion and garlic in the reserved fat until translucent and fragrant.
3. Add kale, chicken stock, cloves, thyme, chili and okra.  Bring to a boil.
4. Rinse corned beef brisket in fresh water, cut into 1-inch cubes.  Add to Dutch oven,
5. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until corned beef is fork tender.
6. Process soup in batches in food processor just enough to retain some chunky texture.  Return soup to pot.
7. Add crab and coconut milk.  Heat through.  Taste for salt and add salt and black pepper to taste.
8. To serve, place 1 scoop of fungi in a serving bowl, ladle soup on top, garnish with sliced scallions and reserved pork cubes.

Fungi Dumplings – Ingredients:

• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 okra, sliced or chopped fine
• 3 cups cornmeal
• 1 Tbsp butter

Method:

1. In a 2-quart sauce pan over medium high heat, bring chicken stock, salt and okra to a roiling boil.
2. Slowly whisk in cornmeal in a steady stream until thick and creamy.
3. Add butter and beat with a wooden spoon until cornmeal leaves the side of the pan.  Remove from heat immediately.
4. Keep warm in a bain marie or double boiler.
5. To serve, use an ice-cream scoop to form balls, place ball of fungi on serving dish and ladle sauce or soup on top.  Garnish as desired.

Note:  Fungi is also a great served with coconut chicken, coconut fish, chicken fried gravy or turkey gravy.  Use in place of toast for creamed tuna, or creamed eggs.  Cooled fungi maybe sliced and fried in olive oil and butter like polenta, or toasted and topped with tapenade or chili jam and cream cheese for appetizers.