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Turkey and Asparagus Crêpes

More Chronicle recipes Shown on ABC's NH Chronicle Nov 25,2005

This is a three for one deal. I wanted one basic recipe that Chronicle viewers could vary according to their family and personal tastes. So I started with a basic white sauce (also known as a béchamel sauce) and added equal quantities to three bowls each containing roughly 2 cups of diced turkey. One was turned into a fancy turkey and asparagus crêpes dish (see below), second was Turkey Enchiladas with soft flour tortillas. The third recipe was an Italian Turkey theme with tri color pasta and Italian style vegetables.

So use these three dishes as inspiration to come up with different fillings according to what your family will eat and what leftovers you have available. They also make great dinner dishes using chicken, pork, ham or salmon or shrimp. The crêpes recipe would be ideal for a Sunday brunch or part of a dinner with friends. All would be good for a potluck since they can be prepared in advance.

Use these sauce ideas to fill giant shells, layer in a lasagna, jazz up real or packet macaroni and cheese, put in a pie plate with pie crust or puff pastry topping and bake, top with hash brown mix and bake, even top a bought pizza crust with sauce and meat mix.

Ingredients

  • ¼ c butter, margarine or oil. (I tend to use olive oil to make my white sauce now, since it is healthier.)
  • ¼ c flour
  • 1 c whole milk or half and half -you could use 1% for every day but the sauce will not have as much flavor
  • 1 c chicken or turkey stock
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 tbsp sherry - I use Taylor's Golden Sherry about $8 for a liter in the grocery store or liquor store. You could use more wine and less stock if you want.
  • About 2 cups of leftover cooked diced turkey
  • About 1 cup of cooked asparagus or baby peas, sweet corn, sliced baby carrots. For a party with friends it's more special to use asparagus.
  • Packet of crêpes from the grocery store - they are sold in packets of 10 or 12 for about $4 or use crêpes recipe from Julia Child or standard cookery book. This quantity of sauce filled about 7 crêpes.

Method

1. Melt butter or oil in non-stick saucepan. Stir in flour until smooth and cook over gentle heat for about 2 minutes. This cooks the flour and prevents the grainy, raw flour taste.

2. Slowly stir in milk and stock, bring to a boil and cook over gentle heat for about 3 minutes until sauce thickens. Stir in sherry and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 2 more minutes to allow sherry to cook out.

3. Stir in turkey and asparagus. Taste and adjust seasoning. If sauce is too thick add some more milk or stock. I find that a thick sauce is not so pleasant to eat. But it needs to be thick enough that it will not run out of crêpes.

4. When I want a certain quantity of filled crêpes, I like to spread out all crêpes (pretty side down) on the counter and then evenly divide the filling amongst them so that the last crêpe has the same amount of filling as the first crêpe. Another trick is to layer crêpes with filling like a layer cake and then cut tower of crêpes into wedges for serving. Then it doesn't matter if one layer has more filling than another since it will even out by cutting tower into wedges through all the different layers.

5. Roll up the crêpes and place them in a greased dish - something like a lasagna pan will work. If you want to serve them at the table make sure it is a decorative dish.

6. Cover and heat in preheated 350° oven for about 30 minutes until bubbling, remove from oven. For Chronicle I had kept back a little of the plain sauce that I spread on top, and arranged some asparagus tips decoratively and sprinkled with chopped toasted almonds for appearance and crunch. Serve with salad.


PLEASE NOTE THAT SUBSTITUTIONS AND DIFFERENT METHODS WILL AFFECT FINAL TASTE.
© 2000-2005 Royal Temptations


Oonagh Williams, proprietor of Royal Temptations, has a Culinary Arts degree, offers Catering services, teaches a variety of classes in International Cooking, makes regular appearances on WMUR ABC Channel 9's Cooks' Corner and has her own series on Merrimack TV. You can contact Oonagh at 603-424-6412.
 
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