go, turkey, go!

A few months ago, I read a blog post about someone who’d posted a recipe from Cook’s Country, with modifications. Apparently she got contacted by some watchdog for the publisher, who told her that (a) she needed to request permission first, and (b) she would not have been allowed to make any modifications. There was a big uproar in the comments with people saying things like “what do you mean, no substitutions? That’s absurd! Cooks substitute and tweak all the time!” I suspect that what they meant was if she were to post a recipe and say it was theirs, she had to post it verbatim. In creative-commons terms, no derivative works. Which seems perfectly reasonable to me.

All that is to say that this recipe is inspired by one I got in an email newsletter. It’s not their recipe mind you, just one inspired by them. Dried cherries, for example – that’s one of my innovations!

Tasty Turkey Tart

serves 6 to 8

dough for 1 9-inch pie crust (I make my own, but pre-made would work)
1 1/2 cups leftover turkey meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 + 1/4 cup crumbled goat or feta cheese
3 apples or firm pears, peeled, cored, and diced
1/4 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
1/4 cup dried cherries
1 cup non-fat plain yogurt
2 tablespoons half-and-half
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
Salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Prepare your crust: Press pie crust into 9-inch deep dish pie pan and trim excess dough with a knife. Prick bottom of dough all over with tines of fork. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes (or as directed by your recipe/package). Cool on wire rack.

3. While crust cooks, combine turkey, 1/2 cup cheese, fruit, pecans, cherries, yogurt, half-and-half, and thyme in large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer turkey mixture to cooled pie crust, then sprinkle with remaining cheese.

4. Bake until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted, about 20 minutes. Let cool on a rack for 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

(Tart can be refrigerated for 24 hours. Bring to room temperature before serving.)

I have made this twice and we’ve enjoyed it both time. The first time, I made it with apples, and it came out just fine. The second time, I made it with pears that were soft (not firm as specified) and the result was not as pleasant – there was too much liquid, from the pears I guess, so the crust got soggy. Jonski Papa suggested that if I’d drained the yogurt to make yogurt cheese, this might not have happened. So if you want to try this with pears, be mindful of too much juice (and/or consider draining your yogurt ahead of time).

Note, too, that this makes a lot of filling and the pie/tart ends up pretty thick. If I had a bigger baking dish, I might try making it larger. I suppose another possibility is to just use less of the filling, and save the rest for turkey salad sandwiches!