Thanksgiving Leftovers Salad | The Nibble Webzine Of Food Adventures

TIP OF THE DAY: Lighter Thanksgiving Leftovers–In Salads

November 24, 2017 at 1:53 pm · Filed under Thanksgiving & Fall, Tip Of The Day, Vegetables-Salads-Herbs

Here’s our list of Thanksgiving leftovers:

Appetizers: cheese, crudités and dip, deviled eggs, nuts, olives

Cranberry sauce

Fresh herbs (parsley, rosemary sage, thyme)

Gravy

Stuffing

Turkey

Vegetables: brussels sprouts, corn pudding, mashed potatoes

We’ve been deluged with leftover recipes for pizza, pot pie, sliders, and other foods that are as heavy as yesterday’s meal. So our tip today is:

Give your stomach a break: Eat lighter.

To us, that means salad. Here are two suggestions:

RECIPE 1. LAYERED SALAD WITH TURKEY LEFTOVERS

It’s an easy recipe: Take whatever you have and make a layered salad. If you don’t have enough salad greens:

[1] Make a layered salad with Thanksgiving leftovers (photo courtesy Taste Of Home).

Look in the cupboard or freezer for artichoke hearts, green beans, peas and other vegetables.

Check the fridge for carrots, celery and other staples: apples, oranges, pears, etc.

Throw in an onion, nuts, olives…whatever you can find.

A simple vinaigrette keeps things light, but here’s the creamy dressing shown in the photo, from Taste Of Home:

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream (substitute yogurt)

1 tablespoon snipped fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dill weed

3/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Preparation

1. COMBINE all ingredients. Let the flavors meld for 30 minutes before serving.

Leftover Turkey Salad
This recipe from Gordon Ramsay Restaurant Group adapts a Szechuan classic, Bang-Bang Chicken (photo below).

[3] A version of the “original,” Bang-Bang Chicken. Here’s the recipe from Kitchen Nine.

RECIPE 2: BANG-BANG TURKEY SALAD

This recipe for Bang-Bang Turkey Salad was developed by the head chef at Gordon Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen restaurant. Prep time is 15 minutes.

Ingredients For 2 Servings

For The Salad

2.5 cups leftover turkey breast/thigh shredded

2/3 cup bean sprouts

1/2 cup watercress (we used 2 cups)

1/4 cup daikon, shredded

4 teaspoons combined fresh chili and ginger, chopped and blanched

Salt and olive oil, as needed

For The Garnish

4 spring onions, chopped (substitute green onions or scallions—the difference)

Half a bunch coriander, chopped

1/3 cup breakfast radishes

1/4 cup toasted peanuts

2 teaspoons sesame seeds

For The Sauce

1/2 chopped onion

2 tablespoons sriracha or other chili-garlic paste/sauce

1-1/2 teaspoons minced garlic

Optional: 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

2 tablespoons toasted (Asian) sesame oil

2 teaspoons mirin

2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar

Pinches of sugar and paprika

Preparation

1. WASH all the salad ingredients and finely slice the radishes, spring onions and daikon.

2. MAKE the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium. Add the onion, sriracha, red pepper flakes and garlic, and cook, stirring, until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients to the onion mixture; cook and stir until smooth. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes.

2. MIX the watercress, bean sprouts, radishes, daikon, ginger and chili and season with salt and olive oil. Place them in the serving bowl.

3. PLACE the turkey on top of the salad, then add the sauce. Garnish with the spring onions, coriander and radishes and place on top. Finish with the toasted peanuts and sesame seeds.

WHAT DOES BANG-BANG MEAN?

You may see dishes called Bang-Bang Chicken on Chinese and other restaurant menus (photo #3). Usually an appetizer in Chinese restaurants, it’s popular enough to be a main course salad at non-Asian restaurants such as Bonefish Grill and Cheesecake Factory.

According to CulinaryLore.com, Bang-Bang Chicken is a traditional Szechuan Chinese recipe of cold chicken drizzled with a spicy and nutty sauce (e.g. peanut sauce). It’s a street food, sold as a snack by street vendors in the Szechuan (Sichuan) province.

The dish can be found on menus as “shredded chicken with sesame sauce.” It is also called bon bon, pon pon, or pang bang chicken.

The chicken is tenderized and shredded by pounding with a heavy wooden stick. The word bàng in Mandarin means stick (and is pronounced somewhere between bong and pong).

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