(Turkey) Pasta Salad

Christmas for me usually includes roasting a turkey, and it's around this time that I'm faced with a fridge full of leftover turkey meat. This is not a burden, mind you - I absolutely love having leftover turkey, and I suspect if a day comes when the turkey is completely eaten on Christmas itself, I would be very depressed. 

This year, I didn't roast a turkey, but went over to a friend's place for dinner instead. She'd ordered a giant 6kg turkey(!), and as she was busy the next few days and not particularly keen on leftovers, I (the Leftovers Queen) had the happy honour of taking most of the meat and bones back. The turkey carcass, in large ziplock bags, went straight into the freezer and the packets of turkey meat (also in ziplock bags) were stored in the fridge. Over the next few days, I've been making turkey and avocado sandwiches, turkey pasta salad and tomato turkey pasta. I'm not sick of turkey, yet...!

Here's the recipe for a simple (Christmas-coloured) turkey pasta salad. This pasta salad (without the turkey) is a great side dish to accompany meat (roasts, sausages, etc.), and works well at picnics and BBQs. Continue reading...

(Turkey) Pasta Salad

375g spiral pasta (use tri-colour spiral pasta for added colour)
1 whole bulb garlic
1 red capsicum
1 green capsicum
light olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
chicken stock (optional)
red pepper flakes (optional)

leftover roast turkey meat (omit for a plain pasta salad)

1. Cook the spiral pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water according to the timing on the pasta packet (less 1 minute). Drain, rinse with cold water and set aside.

2. Peel and chop the garlic.

3. Chop the capsicum finely into small pieces.

4. On low heat, pour some light olive oil in a pot and add the garlic. Fry until the garlic is fragrant, but not brown/burnt.

5. Turn up the heat to medium, add the capsicum and turkey meat and fry for a short while. Add the cooked pasta. Mix well. If the pasta looks a little dry, add some more olive oil.

6. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. For added taste and some spice, sprinkle a little chicken stock (optional) and red pepper flakes (optional).

Tip: Substitute the turkey meat for chicken meat, slices of ham, bacon bits, etc.

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