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Turkey Tetrazzini

My favourite Christmas leftover recipe by far, but works just as well with chicken or even pork after a Sunday roast.

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Leftovers from roasts are just part of the deal really and I like to try and do something nice with them rather than just eating the same meal again for the next few days. One Christmas we had way too much turkey so I looked around for something to do with it. The classic tetrazzini looked great but I couldn't see the point of precooking pasta and then baking it. All you are really doing then is spending 30mins melting the cheese on the top.

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So I swapped out the pasta put a bit of effort into the sauce and the below was born. My favourite part is using the dried pasta, you get those lovely crispy bits all over the top like you get from a great lasagne.

Ingredients

​Serves 2

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  • 250g leftover turkey

  • 25g dried porcini mushrooms

  • 150g chestnut mushrooms

  • 3 garlic cloves

  • 1/2 large onion

  • 1tsp dried thyme

  • 60g parmesan cheese

  • 180g dried penne

  • 200ml white wine

  • 150ml double cream

  • 250ml water

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Method

The first thing you want to do is put the dried porcini in a bowl then boil the water and pour it over the top. You are going to leave this for 20 mins while you prep everything else as this will give you a great mushroom stock that really elevates the meal.

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Now dice your onion, finely chop the garlic and halve then slice the chestnut mushrooms. Once the porcini has soaked for 20 mins pull them out with a slotted spoon onto some kitchen towel. Squeeze the porcini in the towel over the bowl to get out all that delicious liquid. Then chop the porcini small and set aside.

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With the now dark mushroom water you want to pass this through a sieve lined with kitchen towel, into a jug, to get rid of any grit that you often get in dried mushrooms.

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Pop the oven on and heat it to 170c or 340f

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Now sweat your onions in a large saucepan for about 8 mins until they are soft, then add in the garlic and the chestnut and porcini mushrooms and cook for a further 8-10 mins until they have softened and are half the size.

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Next pour in the wine and reduce this until it is about half the volume, this intensifies the flavour. Then pour in 150ml of the porcini water and add in the thyme.

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You just need to bring this up to a simmer now and then you can stir in the cream and turn off the hob. Mix in the pasta and turkey until it's all nicely spread out then pour out into an oven proof dish. It's going to look very wet but trust me, the pasta will soak up most of the sauce in the oven.

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Last but definitely not least scatter the parmesan cheese on top to create that lovely crust. Pop it in the oven and leave for 40 mins.

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Once that's done pull out a lovely, bubbling, crispy topped pasta bake. Spoon out and dig in.

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