Turkey Curry - or "making use of leftovers"

When Knorr sent me the lovely Seasonal Box from Foreman & Field, they also included in it  ingredients with which to make use of some of the leftovers.

I was, initially, intrigued to find a plastic bag containing two Cox's apples and a banana.  I was wondering whether this was someone's idea of a joke, until I put two and two together (with the help of the pineapple) and came up with "curry".  Sure enough, I then found some curry powder, dessicated coconut and double cream.

In the past, I've not had a great deal of success with curries that involve fruit.  So you can imagine, I wasn't overly chuffed about the idea of having to utilise the three fruits together with the leftover turkey.  Well, I was more worried about the loss of the beautiful turkey meat, in the event of the fruity curry turning out to be inedible.  You can only imagine the amount of brain-time I gave to pondering over this recipe.

The original recipe - as given by Marco Pierre White - also involved the use of two Knorr Chicken Stock Pots.  Well, as you know, I'd made some beautiful turkey stock - which rendered the use of the Stock Pots superfluous.  I was torn between doing what I was supposed to - which was follow the recipe to the letter, then blog about the results, versus adapting the recipe to one which was more acceptable to our palates, plus making use of my home-made stock instead of the Knorr Stock Pots.

In the end, it was the quality of the Turkey meat that made my mind up for me.  After all, if we'd all have hated the Marco Pierre-White recipe (which there was every possibility of - sorry, Marco!), the turkey meat would have been wasted.  I very definitely didn't want that to happen - so I adapted it.

We were all very happy with the results.  The curry was considerably hotter than the original would have been and I compromised regarding the fruit.  The apple added the fruity backnotes, with the coconut and cream smoothing the whole effect.  Hubby even ate the leftovers the following day for lunch (not recommended - as the Turkey meat had already been re-heated once, but no rules & regulations come between my man & his curry) - so it must have been good! 

(See also the second Turkey curry recipe - Turkey & Apple Curry which sounds very similar but is in fact very different in flavour).

TURKEY CURRY  (serves 3-4)

Ingredients :

1 pink curry onion, sliced thinly
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 small knob of butter
a pinch of sea salt
1 clove garlic, chopped and crushed
1 red chilli, chopped
1 Cox's apple, peeled, de-cored and chopped into fine dice
2-3 heaped tbsp curry powder
2 tbsp dessicated coconut
1 heaped tbsp tomato puree
350ml turkey stock
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp dark brown sugar
100ml double cream
pre-cooked Turkey meat, cut into 1" chunks
1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped.


Method :


1.  In a deep frying pan or wok, heat the sunflower oil and add the onions.  Cook on a medium heat until the onions are transparent, then increase the heat and cook until they are just beginning to take on colour.  Reduce the heat to medium and add a pinch of salt and the garlic.  Stir to combine & cook for another minute or so.


2.  Add the chilli and apple dice and stir to combine.  Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes or until the apple begins to soften around the edges.


3.  Add the curry powder, coconut and tomato puree and cook gently, stirring, until completely combined and the oil is beginning to separate.


4.  Add the stock, lemon juice and sugar, to taste.  Stir to combine and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and allow to cook and reduce for 5-10 minutes or until beginning to look sauce-like instead of broth-like.


5.  Add the cream and gently stir.  Do not boil from this point on, but just gently simmer.


6.  Once the sauce has achieved the consistency you prefer, add the turkey chunks and continue to simmer to heat them through.  It is most important that the turkey becomes piping hot.


7.  As a last flourish and to freshen up the colour and flavours, add the chopped coriander and mix through.


8. Serve with boiled or steamed rice.


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