By Christine M. Quirk — Christine@concordbridge.org
Thanksgiving is not Thanksgiving, one might argue, without plenty of leftovers. But what can be done to avoid a vat of turkey soup, or days of microwaved yams?
Fortunately, Concord is not short on restaurants — or yummy new ideas.
Egg rolls and fritters
Main Streets Market and Café has put a twist on leftovers by making them into pizza and egg rolls. Yes, egg rolls.
“We use regular egg roll wrappers,” operations manager Krista Costa said. “The chefs fill the wrappers with turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce and fry them up.” Costa suggested serving with a horseradish dip.
“We also make a flatbread pizza,” Costa said. “Use gravy as the base, and then add turkey, stuffing, small dollops of mashed potatoes, and some shredded cheese.”
Costa said she likes to top the pizza with a few drops of cranberry sauce after it comes out of the oven.
Chef Ben Peacock said Farfalle Italian Market is known for its fritters, so what better use of those leftovers?
“We make fritters out of almost everything and they are a huge hit,” he said. “All of them are made fresh, with a special dipping sauce. So we find it more than fitting and delicious to make a fritter.” (See recipe.)
Don’t forget the greens
To get rid of all the leftovers in one swoop, there’s a new twist on an old favorite.
“Off the top of my head, I’m making a turkey pot pie,” owner and chef Ben Elliott of Saltbox Kitchen said. “Use the carcass to make a stock, and fortify it with gravy.”
Elliott suggested using a puff pastry as the crust, then filling the pie with turkey and leftover veggies.
“If you don’t have the veggies, it could be just meat and gravy, with a big salad,” he said. “Everyone’s super stuffed after Thanksgiving, but everyone loves the leftovers. I still want to have the flavors, but at the same time, I’m ready for a big salad. … I’d do some sort of a crispy green frisée with celery slices and red onion — things that are crunchy, juicy, and raw. You get the best of both worlds.”
Leftover mashed potatoes can be tweaked to make a potato pancake for a side dish, Elliott said. “Take the mashed potato, stir in some whole eggs, a little flour, and adjust the seasonings,” he said. “You can use parsley, or thyme, or whatever herbs you like.”
After frying them in a skillet, Elliott said, the pancakes are “crispy on the outside and soft and lovely in the middle.” Top them off with cranberry sauce.
“You can stir in a little heat if you like the spice, just to mix it up a bit,” he said.
Leftover breakfast
Over at Concord Market, head chef and head of culinary operations Steve Collins has been surprised by the response to his leftover breakfast sandwiches.
“He didn’t expect them to be so good, but they were a huge hit,” special events and catering manager Keir Weinberg said.
Collins uses a croissant or other flaky bread, and layers it with turkey, cranberry sauce, and sweet potato puree.
“You grill the bread to get a little crunch,” Weinberg said. “And you can do a fried egg. For [the] faint of heart, you could omit the egg, but it really is good.”
Collins also suggested a shepherd’s pie, using turkey as the base, topping it with veggies, and then using either sweet or mashed potato as the top layer.
Weinberg, like Costa, said she likes Thanksgiving spring rolls.
“It’s a little labor intensive, but it’s worth it,” she said.
Weinberg said she uses a thin spring roll wrapper, and anything can go inside.
“You can omit the cranberry and use a cranberry dipping sauce,” she said.
Tried and true
And for the purists, there’s nothing like a post-Thanksgiving turkey sandwich. Nashoba Brook Bakery owner and co-founder John Gates uses his own sourdough bread and piles on the leftovers.
“Turkey, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce,” he said. “You can even add lettuce and tomato if you want, and enjoy the meal all over again, with a twist.”
From the Farfalle kitchen, chef Ben Peacock offers this “dish that we love to make, using three must-have dishes from Thanksgiving.”
Homemade stuffing and mashed potato fritter with a cranberry sauce aioli
Fritter mix
Mix 1 cup of mashed potato and 1 cup of stuffing with ½ cup flour, 2 eggs, ½ cup milk, and 2 tablespoons of baking powder.
Once mixed well, heat vegetable oil over medium heat in a cast iron pan. The oil should be about a ¼-inch high for shallow frying. Add the batter to the heated oil in baby pancake sizes, about 2 tablespoons per pancake.
Fry the fritters for 1-2 minutes per side until golden brown and crispy. Allow to drain on paper towels.
Cranberry aioli
1:1 mayonnaise to cranberry sauce.
